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THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


JAMES  R.  DAVIS 

University  of  California,  Berkeley,  California 


Agent  for  the  Sale  of  This  Book 
on  the  Western  Coast 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN 
IN  HISTORY 


PAPERS  AND  ADDRESSES  PRESENTED  AT  THE 
PANAMA-PACIFIC  HISTORICAL  CONGRESS 


HELD  AT  SAN  FRANCISCO,  BERKELEY 
AND  PALO  ALTO,  CALIFORNIA 
JULY  19-23,  1915 


EDITED  BY 

H.  MORSE  STEPHENS 


SATHER  PROFESSOR  OF  HISTORY,  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


HERBERT  E.  BOLTON 

PROFESSOR  OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY,  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


137630 


Nrto  gork 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1917 


All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1917, 

By  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


NorfooaS  Ulriaa 

J.  S.  Cushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.8.A. 


CONTENTS 


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Introduction . 

Addresses  Delivered  at  the  General  Sessions: 

The  Conflict  of  European  Nations  in  the  Pacific  . 

H.  Morse  Stephens,  University  of  California. 

The  Share  of  Spain  in  the  History  of  the  Pacific  Ocean 

Rafael  Altamira  y  Crevea,  University  of  Madrid. 

The  History  of  California . 

John  F.  Davis,  Grand  President  of  the  Native  Sons  of  the 
Golden  West. 

-9  The  American  Inter-Oceanic  Canal,  an  Historical  Sketch 

of  the  Canal  Idea . 

Rudolph  J.  Taussig,  Secretary  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Inter¬ 
national  Exposition. 

The  Panama  Canal  . 

Theodore  Roosevelt,  former  President  of  the  American 
Historical  Association. 

Papers  Read  at  the  Special  Sessions  : 

The  Philippine  Islands  and  their  History  as  a  Part  of 
the  History  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  Area 

Opening  Address . 

Leon  Maria  Guerrero,  Manila. 

The  Social  Structure  of,  and  Ideas  of  Law  among, 
Early  Philippine  Peoples  ;  and  a  Recently-dis¬ 
covered  Pre-IIispanic  Criminal  Code  of  the  Phil¬ 
ippine  Islands . 

.lames  A.  Robertson,  Manila. 

Troubles  of  an  English  Governor  of  the  Philippine 

Islands . 

Karl  C.  Leebrick,  University  of  California. 

The  Chinese  in  the  Philippines . 

William  L.  Schurz,  University  of  California, 
v 


PAGE 

2 

23 

34 

83 

114 

137 

153 

155 

160 

192 

214 


o/oo  0 


VI 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


The  Question  of  Ecclesiastical  Visitation  in  the  Philip¬ 
pines  . 223 

Charles  H.  Cunningham,  University  of  California. 

The  Governor-General  of  the  Philippines  under  Spain 

and  the  United  States . 238 


David  P.  Barrows,  University  of  California. 

The  Northwestern  States,  British  Columbia,  and  Alaska  in 
their  Relations  with  the  Pacific  Ocean: 

The  Attitude  of  the  Russian  Government  toward  Alaska  269 
Frank  A.  Golder,  State  College,  Washington. 

The  Fur  Trade  in  Northwestern  Development  .  .  .  276 

F.  W.  Iioway,  New  Westminster,  British  Columbia. 

The  Western  Ocean  as  a  Determinant  in  Oregon  History  287 
Joseph  Schafer,  University  of  Oregon. 


The  Waterways  of  the  Pacific  Northwest  .  .  .  298 

Clarence  B.  Bagley,  Seattle,  Washington. 

Spanish-America  and  the  Pacific  Ocean  : 

The  Monarchical  Plans  of  General  San  MartIn  .  .  311 

E.  Larrabure  y  Unanue,  Historical  Institute,  Lima,  Peru. 

The  Early  Explorations  of  Father  Garces  on  the  Pa¬ 
cific  Slope . 317 

Herbert  E.  Bolton,  University  of  California. 

British  Influence  in  Mexico,  1822-26  .  331 

William  R.  Manning,  University  of  Texas. 

The  Reforms  of  Joseph  Galvez  in  New  Spain  .  .  .  349 

Herbert  I.  Priestly,  University  of  California. 

California  : 

The  “Home  Guard”  of  1861  363 

Horace  Davis,  San  Francisco. 

The  Founding  of  San  Francisco . 373 

Charles  E.  Chapman,  University  of  California. 

New  Mexico  and  Arizona  : 

French  Intrusions  into  New  Mexico,  1749-1752  .  .  .  389 

Herbert  E.  Bolton,  University  of  California. 

Speech  Mixture  in  New  Mexico . 408 

Aurelio  M.  Espinosa,  Stanford  University. 

St.  Vrain’s  Expedition  to  the  Gila  in  1826  ....  429 

Thomas  Maitland  Marshall,  Stanford  University. 


CONTENTS  vii 

PAGE 

The  Causes  for  the  Failure  of  Otermin’s  Attempt  to 

Reconquer  New  Mexico,  1681-1682  439 

Charles  W.  Hackett,  University  of  California. 

The  Ancestry  and  Family  of  Juan  de  Onate  .  .  .  452 

Mrs.  Beatrice  Quijada  Cornish,  University  of  California. 

Japan  and  Australasia  : 

Japan’s  Early  Attempts  to  Establish  Commercial  Rela¬ 
tions  with  Mexico . 467 

Naojiro  Murakami,  Tokyo  University. 

Social  Reactions  of  Buddhism  in  Medieval  Japan  .  .  481 

K.  Asakawa,  Yale  University. 

New  Zealand  and  the  Pacific  Ocean . 497 

J.  Macmillan  Brown,  Christchurch,  New  Zealand. 


INTRODUCTION 


* 


I 


INTRODUCTION 


The  holding  of  the  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition 
at  San  Francisco  in  1915  brought  about  the  meeting  of  many 
national  and  international  congresses  upon  the  Pacific  Coast. 
Among  them  was  the  Panama-Pacific  Historical  Congress,  of  which 
the  volume  now  submitted  to  the  public  presents  the  record. 

Students  and  teachers  of  history  living  upon  the  Pacific  Coast 
had  long  been  desirous  of  keeping  in  closer  touch  with  their  col¬ 
leagues  in  other  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  more  than  one 
invitation  had  been  extended  to  the  American  Historical  Associa¬ 
tion  to  hold  its  annual  meeting  at  San  Francisco.  The  great 
majority  of  the  regular  attendants  at  the  meetings  of  the  Associa¬ 
tion  felt,  however,  that  it  was  inadvisable  to  attempt  to  take  the 
Association  so  far  away  at  the  time  of  its  regular  annual  session 
during  the  Christmas  vacation,  and  at  the  meeting  in  New  Orleans 
in  1903  it  was  resolved  instead  to  authorize  the  establishment  of  a 
Pacific  Coast  Branch  of  the  American  Historical  Association. 
This  Branch  has  held  annual  meetings  and  has  been  a  potent  force 
in  maintaining  friendly  relations  between  historical  scholars  upon 
the  Pacific  Coast,  while  the  fact  that  it  was  organized  as  a  Branch 
of  the  national  Association  has  emphasized  the  solidarity  of  his¬ 
torians  throughout  the  country.  The  establishment  of  the  Branch 
did  not  entirely  meet  the  wishes  of  Pacific  Coast  historians,  who 
still  desired  to  make  their  work  and  themselves  better  known  to 
their  colleagues  in  the  East  and  Middle  West. 

The  idea  of  holding  an  International  Exposition  to  celebrate 
the  completion  of  the  Panama  Canal  was  first  suggested  in  1910, 
and  the  members  of  the  Pacific  Coast  Branch  eagerly  seized  on 
the  idea  in  the  hope  that  such  an  Exposition  might  give  an  op¬ 
portunity  for  the  long-desired  meeting  of  the  American  Historical 
Association  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  At  the  Indianapolis  meeting 
of  the  Association  in  1910,  expression  was  given  to  this  hope  and 

3 


4 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


an  attempt  was  made  to  place  the  Historical  Association  on  record 
in  favor  of  San  Francisco  in  preference  to  any  other  place  as  the 
site  of  the  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition.  At  the 
Buffalo  meeting  of  the  Association  in  1911,  after  San  Francisco 
had  been  determined  upon  as  the  Exposition  city,  a  definite  invi¬ 
tation  from  the  Pacific  Coast  Branch  was  submitted  to  the  Council 
of  the  American  Historical  Association.  At  the  Boston  meeting  in 
1912,  the  invitation  was  discussed  both  in  the  Council  and  in  the 
Association,  and  it  was  definitely  decided  by  a  vote  of  the  Associa¬ 
tion  that  a  special  meeting  should  be  held  in  San  Francisco  in  1915, 
and  Mr.  Rudolph  Taussig,  the  Secretary  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Ex¬ 
position,  was  appointed  chairman  of  the  local  committee  to  make 
arrangements  for  the  meeting.  Definite  plans  were  laid  before  the 
Association  at  the  Charleston  meeting  in  1913.  It  was  then 
stated  that  the  Pacific  Coast  historians  were  contemplating  the 
development  of  the  special  meeting  of  the  American  Historical 
Association  into  an  international  congress  of  historians,  and  that 
correspondence  had  been  opened  with  distinguished  European 
scholars  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  their  presence.  The  idea  had 
taken  shape  that,  since  the  Panama-Pacific  Exposition  was  to 
celebrate  the  completion  of  the  Panama  Canal,  it  would  be  fitting 
that  the  historical  congress  should  confine  its  papers  and  dis¬ 
cussions  to  the  history  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  the  countries  upon 
its  shores,  both  Asiatic  and  American,  instead  of  dealing  with 
matters  of  general  history.  Negotiations  had  been  opened  with 
the  American  Asiatic  Association  and  the  Asiatic  Institute  with  a 
view  to  cooperation,  and  a  large  programme  embracing  the  ac¬ 
tivities  of  all  European  peoples  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  area  was 
blocked  out.  Favorable  replies  began  to  come  in  from  European 
scholars  and  everything  seemed  to  promise  a  great  international 
historical  congress  when  the  European  war  broke  out  in  the 
summer  of  1914.  In  spite  of  the  bitter  disappointment  at  the 
sudden  diminution  of  the  possibilities  of  the  historical  meeting, 
the  Pacific  Coast  Branch  of  the  American  Historical  Association 
resolved  to  persevere  ;  an  outline  programme  of  a  Panama-Pacific 
Historical  Congress  was  laid  before  the  Council  of  the  Association 
at  its  Chicago  meeting  in  1914  and  accepted,  and  a  Committee  on 
Programme  was  appointed. 


INTRODUCTION 


5 


The  definite  work  of  organization  was  then  begun.  The  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Council  of  the  Academy  of  Pacific  Coast  History  con¬ 
sented  to  act  on  the  General  Committee  and  to  stand  behind  the 
Congress  financially ;  generous  help  was  given  by  Mr.  Willard 
Straight  of  New  York,  by  Mr.  Stephen  T.  Mather  of  Chicago, 
Assistant  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and  by  Mr.  Hubert  Howe 
Bancroft,  the  veteran  historian  of  the  Pacific  Coast ;  a  committee 
of  ladies  was  formed  to  superintend  the  social  side  of  the  Congress ; 
and  Mr.  J.  J.  Van  Nostrand,  University  Fellow  in  History  at  the 
University  of  California,  was  appointed  Secretary  to  the  Congress. 
Mr.  James  A.  Barr,  Director  of  Congresses  at  the  Panama-Pacific 
International  Exposition,  extended  the  service  of  his  office  to  the 
Congress  and  was  of  the  greatest  assistance  in  the  preliminary 
work.  Mr.  Frederick  McCormick,  Secretary  of  the  Asiatic  In¬ 
stitute,  took  entire  charge  of  his  share  of  the  work  of  organiza¬ 
tion,  and  Professors  David  P.  Barrows,  Herbert  E.  Bolton,  and 
Frederick  J.  Teggart  of  the  University  of  California,  Professor 
Joseph  Schafer  of  the  University  of  Oregon,  and  Professor  Payson 
J.  Treat  of  Stanford  University  undertook  to  arrange  the  different 
sessions  of  the  Congress. 

The  outbreak  of  the  European  war  having  shattered  the  original 
hopes  of  the  promoters  of  the  Congress  for  a  large  representation 
from  Europe,  it  was  resolved  to  concentrate  the  invitations  outside 
the  United  States  to  Spain,  the  Spanish-speaking  Pacific  Coast 
states,  British  Columbia,  China,  Japan,  and  Australasia.  Thanks 
to  the  kindly  mediation  of  Count  del  Valle  de  Salazar,  the  Spanish 
Consul  in  San  Francisco,  and  to  an  official  invitation  sent  by  Mr. 
W.  J.  Bryan,  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  Spanish  Government  dele¬ 
gated  Senor  Don  Rafael  Altamira,  Professor  of  American  Institu¬ 
tions  at  the  University  of  Madrid,  to  represent  Spain  at  the 
Congress,  and  the  unwearied  efforts  of  Professor  Treat  of  Stan¬ 
ford  University,  supported  by  those  of  Mr.  Numano,  the  Japanese 
Consul-General  in  San  Francisco,  procured  the  delegation  by  the 
Imperial  Government  of  Japan  of  Professor  Naojiro  Murakami, 
President  of  the  Tokyo  Foreign  Language  School.  Efforts  made 
in  South  America  were  less  successful.  The  situation  in  Mexico 
prevented  the  attendance  of  any  Mexican  delegate,  while  Senator 
Don  Gonzalo  Bulnes  from  Chile  and  Senor  Don  Carlos  Antonio 


6 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Romero  from  Peru,  though  anxiously  expected  until  the  last 
moment,  failed  to  put  in  an  appearance.  Through  the  kindness  of 
Mr.  Enrique  Grau,  the  Peruvian  Consul  in -San  Francisco,  a 
paper  was  contributed  by  Senor  Don  E.  Larrabure  y  Unanue, 
President  of  the  Historical  Institute  of  Lima,  Peru,  which  had 
already  received  a  limited  circulation  in  a  Report  on  the  Archives 
of  the  Indies  and  the  Biblioteca  Colombina  at  Seville.  No 
delegate  could  be  procured  from  China,  but  Professor  Schafer  of 
the  University  of  Oregon  procured  the  promise  of  a  paper  from 
Judge  Howay  of  British  Columbia  and  Professor  Treat  of  Stan¬ 
ford  University  a  contribution  from  Professor  Macmillan  Brown 
of  New  Zealand. 

The  result  of  these  exertions  was  first  shown  in  the  distribution 
to  the  members  of  the  American  Historical  Association,  the 
American  Asiatic  Association,  and  of  the  Asiatic  Institute  of  the 
following  circular  and  outline  of  programme,  dated  March  6,  1915, 
which  is  here  reprinted  for  purposes  of  record. 


PANAMA-PACIFIC  HISTORICAL  CONGRESS 

The  celebration  of  the  opening  of  the  Panama  Canal  by  the  Panama- 
Pacific  International  Exposition  in  San  Francisco  affords  a  suitable  op¬ 
portunity  for  dealing  with  the  history  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  area.  The 
Panama  Canal  must  inevitably  change  the  relations  of  the  American,  the 
Asiatic,  and  the  Australasian  countries  bordering  upon  the  Pacific  Ocean 
toward  each  other.  One  era  of  Pacific  Ocean  history  comes  to  an  end; 
another  begins.  It  has  therefore  been  resolved  to  hold  a  historical  con¬ 
gress  to  emphasize  the  main  features  in  the  era  which  has  closed  forever. 
The  American  Historical  Association  resolved  at  its  meeting  in  Boston  two 
years  ago  to  mark  its  sense  of  the  historic  importance  of  the  Panama  Canal 
by  holding  a  special  meeting  in  San  Francisco  in  1915;  and  a  fortunate 
combination  of  circumstances  has  made  it  possible  to  combine  this  special 
meeting  of  the  Historical  Association  with  special  meetings  of  the  American 
Asiatic  Association  and  Asiatic  Institute.  The  week  beginning  July  19th 
has  been  assigned  for  the  holding  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Historical  Congress. 
As  will  be  seen  by  the  outline  of  the  programme  prepared,  the  first  day  of 
the  Congress  will  be  devoted  to  the  consideration  of  the  history  and  inter¬ 
ests  of  the  oldest  civilization  upon  the  coasts  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  the 
civilization  of  China.  On  the  second  day  the  thr^e  associations  will 
meet  together  in  the  morning  to  consider  the  history  of  the  Philippine 
Islands  under  its  oldest  Asiatic  conditions,  under  Spain,  and  in  its  most 


INTRODUCTION 


7 


recent  development  under  the  United  States  of  America.  On  the  evening 
of  the  second  day  attention  will  be  drawn  to  the  conflict  among  European 
nations  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  up  to  the  date  when  the  United  States 
definitely  became  a  Pacific  Coast  power  by  the  annexation  of  California. 
On  the  morning  of  the  third  day  attention  will  be  drawn  to  the  Pacific 
Northwestern  Coast,  and  weight  will  be  laid  upon  the  history  of  Russia 
in  Alaska,  of  Great  Britain  in  British  Columbia,  and  of  the  two  north¬ 
western  States  of  America,  Washington  and  Oregon.  On  the  afternoon  of 
the  third  day  papers  will  be  read  by  eminent  scholars  from  Mexico,  Peru, 
and  Chile  dealing  with  the  part  played  by  the  Spanish-speaking  states 
in  the  development  of  the  Pacific  Ocean ;  and  in  the  evening,  the  Spanish 
historian,  Professor  Rafael  Altamira  of  the  University  of  Madrid,  Spain, 
will  sum  up,  as  a  culmination  of  the  day’s  proceedings,  the  importance  of 
the  part  played  by  Spain  in  the  history  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  meetings 
on  the  fourth  day  will  be  held,  on  the  kind  invitation  of  President  Benjamin 
Ide  Wheeler,  at  the  University  of  California,  at  Berkeley.  In  the  morning 
papers  will  be  read  upon  the  exploration  of  the  Northern  Pacific  and  upon 
the  settlement  of  California ;  and  in  the  afternoon  advantage  will  be  taken 
of  the  presence  of  a  large  number  of  teachers  of  history  attending  the 
Summer  Session  of  the  University  of  California  to  hold  a  teachers  ’  meeting, 
in  which  the  problems  of  the  teaching  of  history  in  schools  will  be  discussed, 
both  by  California  teachers  and  by  some  of  the  visiting  professors  from 
the  East.  In  the  evening  a  public  session  will  be  held  in  San  Francisco 
under  the  direction  of  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West,  a  society 
founded  for  the  encouragement  and  study  of  local  history ;  and  an  address 
will  be  delivered  by  the  President  of  this  order  upon  the  history  of  Cali¬ 
fornia.  The  sessions  of  the  fifth  day  will  be  held  at  Stanford  University 
by  the  kind  invitation  of  President  John  C.  Branner  and  will  be  devoted 
to  papers  and  discussions  upon  the  relations  of  the  Far  East,  Australasia, 
and  Japan  with  the  Pacific  Ocean.  On  the  final  evening  the  event  which 
is  to  be  chiefly  commemorated  by  the  Panama-Pacific  Historical  Congress 
will  be  dealt  with  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Panama-Pacific  International 
Exposition.  Entertainments  and  excursions  are  being  planned  for  the 
sixth  day,  which  will  conclude  the  session  of  the  Congress.  A  memorial 
volume  will  be  published,  containing  the  papers  and  addresses  intended 
for  preservation,  which  will  form  a  permanent  record  of  the  importance 
attributed  by  historians  to  the  chief  features  of  the  old  and  isolated  Pacific  * 
Ocean  of  the  era  before  the  Canal  was  made. 


The  meetings  in  San  Francisco  will  generally  be  held  at  the  Inside  Inn, 
but  it  is  expected  that  use  will  be  made  of  other  buildings  of  the  Exposi¬ 
tion,  which  contain  objects  of  historical  value,  such  as  the  Chinese  and 
Japanese  concessions. 

While  the  headquarters  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Historical  Congress  will 
be  at  the  Inside  Inn  at  the  Exposition,  supplementary  headquarters  will 


8 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


be  opened  at  the  Shattuck  Hotel  in  Berkeley  for  the  convenience  of  atten¬ 
dants  upon  the  Summer  Session  of  the  University  of  California. 

The  announcement  of  the  courses  of  lectures  on  history  to  be  delivered 
at  the  Summer  Session  is  enclosed  with  this  outline  of  the  programme  of  the 
Historical  Congress,  for  it  is  believed  that  many  members  of  the  American 
Historical  Association  may  be  glad  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunities 
afforded  by  the  Summer  Session  and  by  the  Historical  Congress. 

Information  with  regard  to  the  journey  to  California,  and  with  regard 
to  the  accommodations  there,  will  be  gladly  given  by  Mr.  J.  J.  Van  Nos¬ 
trand,  the  Secretary  of  the  Congress,  to  those  members  of  the  associations 
who  fill  out  the  card  herewith  enclosed. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  completed  programme,  containing  the  names  of 
the  readers  of  papers  and  the  titles  of  their  papers,  will  be  circulated  among 
the  members  of  the  Associations  before  the  end  of  May. 

March  6,  1915. 


OUTLINE  OF  PROGRAMME 

Monday,  July  19th 

Morning  Session  —  Meeting  of  the  American  Asiatic  Association  . 

Relations  between  China  and  the  United  States. 

Luncheon  to  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  delegates,  Panama-Pacific 
International  Exposition. 

Afternoon  Session  —  Meeting  of  the  Asiatic  Institute. 

Chinese  History  and  the  Relations  of  China  with  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
(Under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Frederick  McCormick,  Secretary  of  the 
Asiatic  Institute.) 

Evening  Session. 

Address :  Asiatic  Interests  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  by  Willard  Straight, 
President  of  the  American  Asiatic  Association  and  of  the  Asiatic 
Institute. 

Tuesday,  July  20th 

Morning  Session  —  Joint  Meeting  of  the  American  Asiatic  Asso¬ 
ciation,  the  Asiatic  Institute,  and  the  American  Historical 
Association. 

The  Philippine  Islands  and  Their  History  as  a  Part  of  the  History  of 
the  Pacific  Ocean  Area,  under  Spain  and  the  United  States.  (Under 
the  direction  of  Professor  David  P.  Barrows  of  the  University  of 
California,  Director  of  Education  in  the  Philippine  Islands  from  1903 
to  1909.) 


INTRODUCTION 


9 


Afternoon  Session  —  Reception  to  the  Delegates  and  Members 
of  the  American  Asiatic  Association,  the  Asiatic  Institute, 
and  the  American  Historical  Association. 

At  the  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition. 

Evening  Session. 

Address :  The  Conflict  of  European  Nations  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  by 
Professor  Henry  Morse  Stephens,  of  the  University  of  California, 
President  of  the  American  Historical  Association. 

Wednesday,  July  21st 

Morning  Session  —  Meeting  of  the  American  Historical  Associa¬ 
tion. 

The  Northwestern  States,  British  Columbia,  and  Alaska  in  Their  Re¬ 
lation  with  the  Pacific  Ocean.  (Under  the  direction  of  Professor 
Joseph  Schafer  of  the  University  of  Oregon.) 

Luncheon  to  the  delegates  from  Spain,  Mexico,  Peru  and  Chile,  Pan¬ 
ama-Pacific  International  Exposition. 

Afternoon  Session  —  Meeting  of  the  American  Historical  Asso¬ 
ciation. 

Spanish  America  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  (Under  the  direction  of  Pro¬ 
fessor  Herbert  E.  Bolton  of  the  University  of  California.) 

Evening  Session. 

Address :  Spain  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  by  Sefior  Don  Rafael  Altamira, 
Professor  of  American  Institutions  in  the  University  of  Madrid,  Spain. 

Thursday,  July  22d 

Meetings  at  the  University  of  California,  Berkeley 

Morning  Session  —  Meeting  of  the  American  Historical  Associa¬ 
tion. 

Exploration  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Ocean  and  Settlement  of  California 
(Under  the  direction  of  Professor  Frederick  J.  Teggart  of  the  Univer¬ 
sity  of  California.) 

Afternoon  Session  —  Meeting  of  the  California  History  Teachers’ 
Association. 

The  Teaching  of  History  in  Schools.  (Under  the  direction  of  Professor 
W.  A.  Morris  of  the  University  of  California,  and  of  Professor  Henry 
L.  Cannon  of  Stanford  University.) 


10 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Evening  Session  (in  San  Francisco). 

Address :  The  History  of  California,  by  the  Honorable  John  F.  Davis, 
President  of  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West. 

Friday,  July  28d 

Meetings  at  Stanford  University,  Palo  Alto 

Morning  Session  —  Meeting  of  the  American  Historical  Asso¬ 
ciation. 

Australasia  and  the  Further  East  in  Their  Relation  with  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  (Under  the  direction  of  Professor  Payson  J.  Treat  of  Stan¬ 
ford  University.) 

Afternoon  Session  —  Meeting  of  the  American  Historical  Asso¬ 
ciation. 

The  History  of  Japan  and  of  its  Relations  with  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
(Under  the  direction  of  Professor  Payson  J.  Treat  of  Stanford  Uni¬ 
versity.) 

Evening  Session  (in  San  Francisco). 

Address :  The  History  of  the  Panama  Canal  and  Its  Significance  in  the 
History  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  by  Rudolph  J.  Taussig,  Secretary 
of  the  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition. 

During  the  weeks  following  the  distribution  of  this  circular  and 
outline  of  programme,  many  changes  and  additions  were  made  to 
the  programme,  of  which  the  most  noteworthy  were  the  insertion 
of  a  meeting  of  the  New  Mexico  Historical  Society,  through  the 
exertions  of  Governor  Bradford  L.  Prince  and  Professor  Aurelio  M. 
Espinosa  of  Stanford  University ;  the  definite  organization  of  a 
meeting  of  the  California  History  Teachers’  Association  by  Pro¬ 
fessor  W.  A.  Morris  of  the  University  of  California  and  Professor 
H.  L.  Cannon  of  Stanford  University ;  the  support  promised 
by  the  local  Order  of  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West  and  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  of  the  Order,  presided  over  by  Mr. 
Roland  M.  Roche ;  and  the  engagement  made  by  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  a  former  president  of  the  American  Historical  Asso¬ 
ciation,  to  be  present  to  speak  on  the  negotiations  which  led  to 
the  making  of  the  Panama  Canal,  to  celebrate  the  completion  of 
which  the  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition  at  San  Fran- 


INTRODUCTION 


11 


cisco  had  been  started  and  the  holding  of  a  Panama-Pacific  His¬ 
torical  Congress  had  been  designed. 

The  Congress  held  its  sessions  from  July  19  to  July  23,  and  the 
formal  programme,  with  the  names  of  the  members  of  the  different 
committees  which  contributed  to  make  the  Congress  a  success, 
is  now  reprinted. 


PANAMA-PACIFIC  HISTORICAL  CONGRESS 

SPECIAL  MEETINGS  OF 

American  Asiatic  Association  and  Asiatic  Institute 
July  19-20,  1915 

AND  OF 

American  Historical  Association 
JULY  20-23,  1915 


AMERICAN  ASIATIC  ASSOCIATION 


President 

Willard  Straight 


Vice-President 
Lowell  Lincoln 


Secretary 
John  Foord 


President 
Wm.  H.  Taft 


ASIATIC  INSTITUTE 

Secretary 

Frederick  McCormick 


AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATION 


President 

H.  Morse  Stephens 
Secretary 

Waldo  G.  Leland 


First  Vice-President 
George  L.  Burr 

Treasurer 

Clarence  W.  Bowen 


Second  Vice-President 
Worthington  C.  Ford 

Secretary  to  the  Council 
Evarts  B.  Greene 


GENERAL  COMMITTEE  OF  ARRANGEMENTS 

Rudolph  J.  Taussig,  Chairman 
President  of  the  Academy  of  Pacific  Coast  History 
Secretary  of  the  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition 


12 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE  ACADEMY  OF  PACIFIC  COAST  HISTORY 


William  B.  Bourn 
William  H.  Crocker 
Guy  C.  Earl 
Joseph  D.  Grant 


Phoebe  Apperson  Hearst 
William  F.  Herrin 
Richard  M.  Hotalino 
Livingston  Jenks 


James  K.  Moffitt 
Frederick  W.  Sharon 
Sigmund  Stern 


Officers  of  the  Pacific  Coast  Branch  of  the  American  Historical  Association 
President  Benjamin  Ide  Wheeler 
Members  of  the  Department  of  History  of  the  University  of  California 

Chancellor  David  Starr  Jordan 
President  John  C.  Branner 

Members  of  the  Department  of  History  of  Stanford  University 


SECRETARY  TO  THE  PANAMA-PACIFIC  HISTORICAL  CONGRESS 

J.  J.  Van  Nostrand,  2737  Dwight  Way,  Berkeley,  California 
to  whom  all  communications  should  be  addressed 


RECEPTION  COMMITTEE 


Mrs.  Phoebe  Apperson  Hearst 


Mrs.  D.  P.  Barrows 
Mrs.  W.  B.  Bourn 
Mrs.  J.  C.  Branner 
Mrs.  W.  H.  Crocker 
Mrs.  John  F.  Davis 
Mrs.  Guy  C.  Earl 


Mrs.  J.  D.  Grant 
Mrs.  Livingston  Jenks 
Mrs.  David  Starr  Jordan 
Mrs.  J.  K.  Moffitt 
Mrs.  F.  G.  Sanborn 
Mrs.  F.  W.  Sharon 


Mrs.  Charles  W.  Slack 
Mrs.  Max  Sloss 
Mrs.  Sigmund  Stern 
Mrs.  Willard  Straight 
Miss  Rosa  G.  Taussig 
Mrs  B.  I.  Wheeler 


Miss  Mary  Floyd  Williams,  Secretary 


ASIATIC  INSTITUTE  CONFERENCE 

committee  of  management 


Frederick  McCormick 

Asiatic  Institute 

Frederick  W.  Williams 

Oriental  Society 

John  Foord 

American  Asiatic  Association 


H.  Morse  Stephens 
American  Historical  Association 

Willard  Straight 

India  House 

G.  H.  Blakeslee 
Clark  University  Conference 


COMMITTEE  ON  PROGRAMME 
Frederic  L.  Thompson,  Amherst  College,  Chairman 


Eugene  C.  Barker 
University  of  Texas 

Joseph  Schafer 
University  of  Oregon 


Herbert  E.  Bolton 

University  of  California 

Frederick  J.  Teggart 

University  of  California 


Max  Farrand 
Yale  University 

Arley  B.  Show 
Stanford  University 


Payson  J.  Treat 

Stanford  University 


James  F.  Willard 

University  of  Colorado 


INTRODUCTION 


13 


REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE  NATIVE  SONS  OF  THE  GOLDEN  WEST 

Roland  M.  Roche 

Judge  Frank  J.  Murasky  Hon.  F.  Clifton  Merritt 

Hon.  James  D.  Phelan  Hon.  John  F.  Davis 

A  cordial  invitation  is  extended  to  the  members  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  His¬ 
torical  Association  to  attend  the  sessions  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Historical  Con¬ 
gress. 


PROGRAMME 
Monday,  July  19th 
Asiatic  Institute  Conference 

(An  outline  of  the  Conference  Programme  is  given  on  a  separate  leaflet. 

Printed  on  p.  17.) 

8 :  30  p.m.,  Inside  Inn  —  Willard  Straight,  New  York  —  Asiatic  In¬ 
terests  in  the  Pacific  Ocean. 


Tuesday,  July  20th 

Joint  meeting  of  the  American  Asiatic  Association,  the  Asiatic  Institute, 
and  the  American  Historical  Association. 

10 :  00  a.m.,  Philippine  Islands  Building.  —  The  Philippine  Islands  and 
Their  History  as  a  Part  of  the  History  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  Area, 
under  Spain  and  the  United  States.  Chairman,  Professor  Le6n 
Marfa  Guerrero,  Manila. 

*James  A.  Robertson,  Manila  —  Social  Structure  of,  and  Ideas  of  Law 
among  Early  Philippine  Peoples;  and  a  Recently  Discovered 
Criminal  Code  of  the  Prehistoric  Epoch. 

*K.  C.  Leebrick,  University  of  California  —  The  Troubles  of  an  English 
Governor  of  the  Philippines. 

*William  L.  Schurz,  University  of  California  —  The  Chinese  in  the 
Philippines. 

*Charles  H.  Cunningham,  University  of  California  —  The  Question  of 
Ecclesiastical  Visitation  in  the  Philippines. 

*David  P.  Barrows,  University  of  California  —  The  Governor-General 
of  the  Philippines  under  Spain  and  the  United  States. 

*The  addresses  and  papers  read  at  the  Congress  and  printed  in  this  volume  are 
marked  with  an  asterisk.  Titles  for  which  substitute  papers  are  printed  are 
marked  with  a  dagger. 


14 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


1 :  00  p.m.,  Inside  Inn  —  Luncheon  to  the  delegate  from  Japan  to  the 
Panama-Pacific  Historical  Congress. 

4 :  00  p.m.,  California  Building  —  Reception  to  the  Delegates  and  Mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Historical  Congress. 

*8:30  p.m.,  Fairmont  Hotel  —  Henry  Morse  Stephens,  University  of 
Cahfornia  —  The  Conflict  of  European  Nations  in  the  Pacific  Ocean 


Wednesday,  July  21  st 

Meeting  of  the  American  Historical  Association 

10 : 00  a.m.,  Oregon  Building  —  The  Northwestern  States,  British 
Columbia,  and  Alaska  in  Their  Relation  with  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Chairman,  Professor  Joseph  Schafer. 

*Frank  A.  Golder,  State  College,  Washington  —  Russia’s  Relation  to 
the  North  Pacific  Coast. 

*F.  W.  Howay,  New  Westminster,  B.  C.  —  The  Fur  Trade  as  a  Factor 
in  Northwestern  Development. 

*Joseph  Schafer,  University  of  Oregon  —  The  Western  Ocean  as  a 
Determinant  in  Oregon  History. 

*Clarence  B.  Bagley,  Seattle,  Washington  —  The  Waterways  of  the 
Pacific  Northwest. 

1 :  00  p.m.,  Inside  Inn  —  Luncheon  to  the  Delegates  from  Spain,  Peru, 
and  Chile. 

2 : 30  p.m.,  Argentine  Building  —  Spanish  America  and  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  Chairman,  Professor  William  R.  Manning. 

Senor  Don  Gonzalo  Bulnes,  Santiago  de  Chile  —  Chile  and  the  Pacific 
Ocean. 

Senor  Don  Carlos  Antonio  Romero,  Biblioteca  National,  Lima  —  Peru 
and  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

*Senor  Don  E.  Larrabure  y  Unanue,  Instituto  Histdrico,  Lima  —  The 
Monarchical  Plans  of  General  San  Martin. 

Mrs.  Zelia  Nuttall,  San  Francisco  —  The  Northern  Limits  of  Drake’s 
Voyage. 

f Herbert  E.  Bolton,  University  of  California — The  Explorations  of 
Father  Kino  on  the  Pacific  Slope. 

*William  R.  Manning,  University  of  Texas  —  British  Influence  in 
Mexico,  and  Poinsett’s  Struggle  Against  It. 

^Herbert  I.  Priestley,  University  of  California  —  The  Reforms  of  Joseph 
Gdlvez  in  New  Spain. 

*8 :  30  p.m.,  Fairmont  Hotel  —  Senor  Don  Rafael  Altamira  y  Crevea, 
University  of  Madrid  —  Spain  and  the  Pacific  Ocean. 


INTRODUCTION 


15 


Thursday,  July  22d 

Meetings  at  the  University  of  California,  Berkeley 

10 :  00  a.m.,  Boalt  Hall  —  Exploration  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Ocean 
and  Settlement  of  California.  Chairman,  Hon.  Horace  Davis,  San 
Francisco. 

*Horace  Davis,  San  Francisco  —  The  Home  League,  1861. 

Fr.  Zephyrin,  O.  F.  M.,  Santa  Barbara  —  The  Franciscans  in  California. 

*Charles  E.  Chapman,  University  of  California  — -  The  Founding  of 
San  Francisco. 

George  Parker  Winship,  Harvard  University  —  Early  Navigators  of 
the  North  Pacific  Ocean  and  the  Map-makers. 

Frederick  J.  Teggart,  University  of  California  —  1789  in  the  North 
Pacific. 

12 :  30  p.m.,  Faculty  Club  Glade  —  Luncheon  to  the  Delegates  and  Mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Congress. 

2 :  00  p.m.,  Boalt  Hall  —  Meeting  of  the  California  History  Teachers’ 
Association.  Topic  for  Consideration  —  Is  it  in  the  Interest  of 
History  in  Schools  that  a  Fuller  Definition  of  the  History  Require¬ 
ment  be  Made  by  the  American  Historical  Association,  Showing  the 
Especial  Points  to  Be  Emphasized  and  Those  to  Be  More  Lightly 
Treated?  Chairman,  Professor  Max  Farrand,  Yale  University. 

George  L.  Burr,  Cornell  University  —  The  Eastern  View. 

Presentation  of  Papers  by  Miss  Crystal  Harford,  Lodi  High  School ; 
Edward  J.  Berringer,  Sacramento  High  School;  John  R.  Sutton, 
Oakland  High  School. 

Reading  of  Responses  from  California  Teachers,  by  Professor  Henry  L. 
Cannon,  Leland  Stanford  University. 

Discussion  —  Led  by  William  J.  Cooper,  Berkeley  High  School,  to  be 
followed  by  volunteers  from  the  floor.  Conclusion  of  the  discussion 
by  the  Chairman.  (Papers  are  limited  to  twenty  minutes  for  each 
speaker.) 

2 : 00  p.m.,  Boalt  Hall  —  Meeting  of  the  New  Mexico  Historical  Society. 
Chairman,  Aurelio  M.  Espinosa,  Stanford  University. 

Hon.  Bradford  L.  Prince  —  The  New  Mexico  Historical  Society. 

t Herbert  E.  Bolton,  University  of  California  —  New  Light  on  the  Ex¬ 
plorations  of  Juan  de  Onate. 

*Aurelio  M.  Espinosa,  Stanford  University  —  Speech  Mixture  in  New 
Mexico. 

*Thomas  Maitland  Marshall,  Stanford  University  —  New  Light  on  the 
American  Fur  Trade  in  the  Southwest. 

fCharles  W.  Hackett,  University  of  California  —  The  Sources  of  the 
History  of  the  Pueblo  Revolt. 

*Mrs.  Beatrice  Quijada  Cornish,  University  of  California  —  The  Ances¬ 
try  and  Early  Life  of  Juan  de  Onate. 


16 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


4:  00  p.m.,  President’s  Residence  —  Reception  to  Delegates  and  Mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Congress  by  President  Benjamin  Ide  Wheeler  and  Mrs. 
Wheeler. 

*8 :  00  p.m.,  Native  Sons  Hall,  San  Francisco  —  Hon.  John  F.  Davis, 
President  of  the  N.  S.  G.  W.  —  The  History  of  California. 

9 : 30  p.m.,  Native  Sons’  Hall  —  Reception  to  the  Delegates  and  Mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Congress  by  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West. 

Friday,  July  28d 

Meeting  at  Stanford  University,  Palo  Alto 

10  :  30  a.m.,  214  History  Building  —  Japan  and  Australasia.  Chairman, 
Chancellor  David  Starr  Jordan. 

*Dr.  Naojiro  Murakami,  President  of  the  Tokyo  Foreign  Language 
School  —  Early  Japanese  Attempts  to  Establish  Commercial  Re¬ 
lations  with  Mexico,  1599-1617. 

*Professor  K.  Asakawa,  Yale  University  —  Japan’s  Early  Experience 
with  Buddhism. 

*Professor  J.  Macmillan  Brown,  Christchurch,  New  Zealand  —  New 
Zealand  and  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

12 :  30  p.m.,  Faculty  Club  —  Luncheon  to  the  Delegates  and  Members 
of  the  Congress. 

1 :  30  p.m.  —  Tour  of  the  buildings  and  grounds  of  Leland  Stanford  Uni¬ 
versity. 

*8:00  p.m.,  Native  Sons’  Hall  —  Rudolph  J.  Taussig,  Secretary  of 
the  P.  P.  I.  E.  —  The  American  Interoceanic  Canal ;  an  Historical 
Sketch  of  the  Canal  Idea. 

Saturday,  July  24th 

Pleasanton  —  Reception  and  garden  party  to  Delegates  and  Members  of 
the  Congress  by  Mrs.  Phoebe  Apperson  Hearst  at  Hacienda  del  Pozo 
de  Verona,  Pleasanton. 


INTRODUCTION 


17 


ASIATIC  INSTITUTE  CONFERENCE 

PROGRAM 
July  19 

Morning :  9 :  30  to  12 :  30  o’clock  at  Festival  Hall 
This  session  is  held  as  a  Memorial  to  Henry  Willard  Denison 
The  Pacific  as  the  Theatre  of  Two  Civilizations 

WILLIAM  JENNINGS  BRYAN 
Ex-Secretary  of  State 

SIDNEY  L.  GULICK 
Secretary  Federal  Council  of  Churches 

JOHN  BARRETT 

Director-General  Pan-American  Bureau 

Afternoon :  2 :  30  to  5 :  30  o’clock  at  Inside  Inn 

This  session  is  held  as  a  Memorial  to  William  Woodville  Rockhill 

The  Pacific  as  the  Theatre  of  “the  World’s  Great 
Hereafter  ” 

DAVID  STARR  JORDAN 
Chancellor  Stanford  University 

JAMES  B.  BULLITT 
United  States  Navy  League 

FREDERICK  McCORMICK 
Asiatic  Institute 

Evening :  7 :  30  —  Subscription  Dinner  Session  Inside  Inn 
Impromptu  Program 
c 


18 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Represented  in  the  discussions  by  messages  or  papers : 


William  Howard  Taft 
Charles  W.  Eliot 
Horace  N.  Allen 
Mabel  T.  Boardman 


Viscount  Chinda 
Henry  White 
Thos.  J.  O’Brien 
Austin  Cunningham 


AND  OTHERS 


At  the  last  moment,  some  changes  were  inevitably  made.  Mr. 
Willard  Straight  of  New  York,  President  of  the  American  Asiatic 
Association,  was  prevented  from  coming  to  San  Francisco  at  the 
last  moment,  and  the  proceedings  upon  July  19  were  conducted 
by  Mr.  Frederick  McCormick  as  an  Asiatic  Institute  Conference. 
At  this  Conference,  speeches  were  made  by  Mr.  W.  J.  Bryan  and 
others  at  Festival  Hall  and  at  the  Inside  Inn  on  the  Exposition 
Grounds,  but  no  papers,  in  the  technical  sense  of  the  word,  upon 
the  Asiatic  side  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  history  were  read.  No 
delegates  appeared  from  South  America;  Mrs.  Nuttall’s  paper 
was  transferred  from  the  Wednesday  afternoon  to  the  Thursday 
morning  session ;  and  in  the  absence  of  Dr.  George  Parker  Win- 
ship,  Professor  William  Dallam  Armes,  of  the  University  of  Cali¬ 
fornia,  read  a  paper  on  “The  Republic  of  California”  at  the 
same  session.  At  the  meeting  of  the  New  Mexico  Historical 
Society  Professor  Altamira  y  Crevea  of  the  University  of  Madrid 
and  Father  Zephyrin  Engelhardt  gave  interesting  impromptu 
addresses,  and  honorary  memberships  in  the  society  were  con¬ 
ferred  upon  Professor  Herbert  E.  Bolton  and  Mr.  Charles  W. 
Hackett,  of  the  University  of  California. 

The  addresses  and  papers  published  in  this  volume  show  the 
scope  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Historical  Congress. 
One  or  two  of  the  papers  herein  printed  were  read  by  title  only  at 
the  sessions  of  the  Congress,  and  one  or  two  of  the  papers  actually 
read  are,  for  various  reasons,  not  printed  in  this  volume.  It  has 
been  thought  best  to  print  in  a  separate  pamphlet  an  account  of 
the  session  of  the  California  History  Teachers’  Association,1  and 
not  to  include  the  report  of  this  meeting  in  a  volume  specially 
devoted  to  strictly  historical  papers.  It  should  be  noted  also, 
that  the  Honorable  Theodore  Roosevelt’s  remarks  were  spoken  in 

1  Copies  of  this  pamphlet  can  be  obtained  upon  application  to  Professor  W.  A. 
Morris,  University  of  California,  Berkeley,  California. 


INTRODUCTION 


19 


the  form  of  a  comment  upon  Mr.  R.  J.  Taussig’s  paper  and  were 
not  read.  These  remarks,  which  concluded  the  final  session  of  the 
Historical  Congress,  are  printed  from  a  shorthand  writer’s  report, 
as  an  important  contribution  to  the  history  of  the  Panama  Canal. 

Something  should  be  said  as  to  the  social  side  of  the  Panama- 
Pacific  Historical  Congress.  One  hundred  and  thirty-nine  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  American  Historical  Association  registered  as  attending 
the  meetings ;  many  of  them  came  from  the  Eastern  States  and 
the  Middle  West,  but  the  great  majority  were  members  of  the 
Pacific  Coast  Branch.  The  people  of  San  Francisco  gave  a  gener¬ 
ous  welcome  to  the  visitors.  On  July  20,  a  reception  was  given  to 
the  delegates  from  Spain  and  Japan  and  to  the  members  of  the 
Congress  at  the  California  Building  on  the  Exposition  Grounds  by 
the  ladies  whose  names  appear  as  members  of  the  Reception  Com¬ 
mittee.  Upon  the  same  day,  a  luncheon  was  given  to  the  delegate 
from  Japan  at  the  Inside  Inn.  In  the  evening,  the  women  members 
of  the  Congress  dined  together  at  the  California  Building,  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  the  precedent  started  at  the  Chicago  meeting  of  the 
Plistorical  Association,  under  the  direction  of  Miss  Mary  Floyd 
Williams,  Secretary  to  the  Reception  Committee.  On  Wednesday 
a  luncheon  was  given  at  the  Inside  Inn  in  honor  of  the  delegates, 
who  did  not  appear,  from  Peru  and  Chile,  and  in  the  evening  a 
dinner  was  given  to  the  delegate  from  Spain  at  the  Fairmont  Hotel. 
On  Thursday,  July  22,  the  meetings  were  held  at  the  University  of 
California,  Berkeley,  when  a  luncheon  was  given  to  the  delegates 
and  the  members  of  the  Congress  in  the  Faculty  Club  Glade,  and 
a  reception  in  the  afternoon  by  President  and  Mrs.  Wheeler  at 
their  residence.  In  the  evening,  the  address  of  the  Honorable 
John  F.  Davis,  President  of  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West, 
at  the  Native  Sons’  Hall  in  San  Francisco,  was  followed  by  an  in¬ 
formal  reception.  On  Friday,  July  23,  the  Faculty  Club  gave  a 
luncheon  to  the  delegates  and  members  at  Stanford  University, 
which  was  followed  by  a  delightful  reception  to  the  visitors  given 
by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  H.  Crocker  at  their  home  at  New  Place, 
Burlingame.  On  Saturday,  July  24,  after  the  formal  proceedings 
had  been  brought  to  a  close  on  the  previous  evening,  the  delegates 
and  members  were  conveyed  on  a  special  train  to  the  beautiful 
home  of  Mrs.  Phoebe  Apperson  Hearst  at  the  Hacienda  del  Pozo 


20 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


de  Verona,  Pleasanton.  The  sincere  thanks  of  the  General  Com¬ 
mittee  and  of  the  Programme  Committee  are  hereby  given  to  those 
generous  hosts  and  hostesses  who  did  so  much  to  make  the  social 
features  of  the  Congress  successful,  and  particularly  to  the  members 
of  the  Reception  Committee,  to  President  and  Mrs.  Benjamin  Ide 
Wheeler,  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  H.  Crocker,  and  to  Mrs.  Phoebe  Ap- 
person  Hearst. 

An  interesting  episode  of  the  last  day  of  the  meeting  was  the  cir¬ 
culation  among  the  members  of  the  Historical  Congress  of  a  pam¬ 
phlet  by  Professor  John  L.  Myres,  Wykeham  Professor  of  Ancient 
History  at  Oxford,  entitled :  The  Provision  for  Historical  Studies 
at  Oxford,  Surveyed  in  a  Letter  to  the  President  of  the  American  His¬ 
torical  Association  on  the  Occasion  of  its  Meeting  in  California,  1915. 

Finally,  the  thanks  of  the  editors  of  this  volume  are  due  to  the 
readers  of  the  various  papers  herein  published,  with  the  statement 
of  their  conviction  that  one  of  the  permanent  results  of  the  Panama- 
Pacific  International  Exposition  is  to  be  found  in  this  volume  that 
records  the  proceedings  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Historical  Congress. 

H.  M.  S. 

H.  E.  B. 

Note.  An  account  of  the  Congress,  with  a  discriminating  summary  of  the  papers 
read,  by  Dr.  J.  Franklin  Jameson,  will  be  found  in  the  American  Historical  Review 
for  October,  1915,  Vol.  xxi,  pp.  1-11. 


ADDRESSES  DELIVERED  AT  THE  GENERAL 

SESSIONS 


PRESIDENT’S  ADDRESS 


The  Conflict  of  European  Nations  in  the  Pacific  Ocean 
H.  Morse  Stephens 

The  completion  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Canal  opens  the  fourth 
chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Since  the  Asiatic 
and  American  peoples  seem  to  have  had  no  regular  intercourse 
across  the  Ocean,  even  if  occasional  fishermen  may  have  been  blown 
from  shore  to  shore  by  the  winds,  the  first  chapter  opened  with 
the  coming  of  Europeans  almost  simultaneously  to  gaze  upon  the 
Pacific  Ocean  from  both  east  and  west,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  For  about  two  hundred  years  the  Ocean  re¬ 
mained  a  Spanish  lake,  disturbed  only  by  the  intervention  of  adven¬ 
turers,  explorers,  and  pirates  of  other  nations.  Then  came  the 
second  chapter,  the  chapter  of  conflict  between  the  nations  of 
Europe,  which  closed  when  the  Spanish-American  countries,  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  the  Dominion  of  Canada  occupied 
the  American  coast-line  of  the  Ocean.  The  third  chapter  covers  the 
greater  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  during  which  Europe  made 
spasmodic  efforts  among  the  islands  and  in  China  to  secure  a  foot¬ 
hold,  and  the  power  of  New  Japan  arose.  This  epoch  now  ends. 
The  completion  of  the  Panama  Canal  has  brought  Europe  into 
closer  touch  with  the  Pacific  Ocean ;  the  old  isolation  of  the 
American  coast  of  the  Pacific  has  come  to  an  end ;  and  new 
problems  have  arisen  for  merchants  and  politicians  alike. 

The  Panama-Pacific  Historical  Congress  owes  its  being  to  the 
recognition  that  an  historical  period  closes  with  the  completion 
of  the  Canal,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  state  of  affairs  in 
Europe  many  distinguished  European  historians  would  have  been 
present  to  signify  in  papers  and  discussions  their  views  as  to  the 
earliest  history  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  But,  despite  discouragement, 
it  has  been  resolved  to  hold  the  Panama-Pacific  Historical  Con¬ 
gress  as  it  has  been  resolved  to  hold  the  Panama-Pacific  Exposi- 

23 


24 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


tion.  It  is  true  that  only  two  governments,  one  European  and 
the  other  Asiatic,  have  sent  special  delegates  to  the  Congress,  but 
these  are  the  governments  of  the  two  nations  vitally  interested  in 
the  history  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Spain,  which  so  long  domi¬ 
nated  the  Pacific,  has  sent  as  its  delegate  Professor  Rafael  Alta- 
mira  y  Crevea,  and  Japan,  whose  entrance  into  Pacific  Ocean 
politics  is  the  significant  fact  of  its  history  in  the  nineteenth  cen¬ 
tury,  has  sent  Professor  Murakami.  We  welcome  both  of  them. 
The  brief  address  that  follows  is  an  attempt  to  deal  with  the 
second  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  its  intent 
is  to  show  that  the  period  of  the  eighteenth  century  in  the  Pacific 
can  only  be  understood  in  relation  to  the  history  of  Europe. 

The  history  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  is  a  chapter  in  the  history  of 
civilization.  The  earliest  civilizations  that  faced  the  Pacific 
Ocean  faced  it  from  the  East.  This  is  not  the  place  to  deal  with 
the  various  reasons  which  prevented  the  civilizations  of  Asia,  the 
ancient  civilizations  of  China,  Japan,  Siam,  and  Malaya  from 
attempting  to  cross  the  Pacific  Ocean  from  East  to  West.  That 
there  may  have  been  contact  between  the  Chinese  and  other 
Asiatic  peoples  with  America  is  one  of  the  problems  of  archaeology 
and  ethnology.  But  it  is  perfectly  certain  that  there  could  not 
have  been  any  regular  communication,  although  there  may  have 
been  contact,  between  the  Asiatic  civilizations  of  the  Eastern 
coast  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  American 
Continent.  The  problem  of  the  civilization  of  the  islands  of  Poly¬ 
nesia  and  Melanesia  and  of  the  islands  of  the  South  Sea,  together 
with  the  more  specific  problem  of  Malay  influences  and  of  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  population  in  Australia  and  New  Zealand,  are  likewise 
problems  which  the  archaeologist  and  the  ethnologist  may  eventually 
solve.  The  legends  of  the  Maoris  of  New  Zealand  and  of  many 
Polynesian  peoples  indicate  familiarity  with  the  geography  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean  and  bear  traces  of  an  early  knowledge  of  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Continent.  The  famous  stone  images  of  Easter  Island  indi¬ 
cate  a  vanished  civilization  in  the  heart  of  the  South  Pacific 
Ocean,  but  even  the  most  learned  of  archaeologists  have  not  yet 
penetrated  the  secret  of  the  earliest  civilizations  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  solution  of  the  problem 
of  the  absence  of  communication  between  the  advanced  civiliza- 


THE  CONFLICT  OF  EUROPEAN  NATIONS 


25 


tion  of  Asia  and  the  American  Continent  is  to  be  found  in  a  study 
of  the  currents  that  prevail  in  the  Pacific  Ocean.  We  know  that 
the  Chinese  and  Malays  were  daring  sailors  in  their  own  difficult 
waters,  but  they  never  attempted  any  systematic  communication 
with  the  American  Continent  from  East  to  West. 

The  beginning  of  knowledge  of  the  geography  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  and  of  regular  communication  between  its  Asiatic  and  its 
American  populations  was  reserved  for  a  time  when  European 
peoples  first  faced  each  other  across  the  unknown  width  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  It  was  reserved  for  European  peoples  to  traverse 
those  wastes  of  water  and  to  establish  regular  communications. 
It  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  two  great  peoples  who  opened  the 
era  of  European  exploration  into  the  unknown  regions  of  further 
Asia  and  America,  visited  the  Pacific  Ocean  at  about  the  same  time 
in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  romantic  age  of 
exploration  covers  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  and  the  early  part  of 
the  sixteenth  centuries.  During  the  fifteenth  century,  the  Por¬ 
tuguese  under  the  inspiration  of  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator 
learned  the  fine  art  of  navigation  in  slowly  working  southward 
along  the  Western  coast  of  Africa,  and,  having  turned  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  opened  direct  communication  by  sea  with  India 
and  the  Further  East.  The  epoch-making  voyage  of  Vasco  da 
Gama  in  1498  brought  the  Portuguese  mariners  directly  from 
Lisbon  to  India,  and  eleven  years  later,  in  1509,  a  squadron  of 
Portuguese  ships  entered  the  port  of  Malacca,  and  thus  ap¬ 
proached  the  Pacific  Ocean  from  the  East.  In  1511,  Affonso  de 
Alboquerque  took  possession  of  the  city  of  Malacca  and  during 
the  next  six  years  the  Portuguese  not  only  explored  the  Spice 
Islands  and  the  coasts  of  Siam  and  of  China,  but  came  into  con¬ 
tact  with  the  problem  of  the  Pacific.  At  identically  the  same 
time,  the  Spanish  explorers  of  the  American  Continent  faced  the 
Pacific  Ocean  from  the  West.  In  1513,  Balboa  looked  upon  the 
Pacific  Ocean  at  the  very  time  when  a  young  Portuguese  gentle¬ 
man  named  Magellan  was  serving  under  the  Portuguese  flag  in 
the  Spice  Islands.  The  early  Spanish  conquistador es  speedily  ex¬ 
plored  the  American  coast  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  both  North  and 
South,  but  it  was  reserved  for  Magellan  to  cross  the  ocean  from 
America  to  Asia.  Since  the  ideas  of  Magellan  were  not  welcome 


26 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


to  the  Portuguese,  it  was  under  the  flag  of  Spain  that  he  under¬ 
took  his  adventurous  voyage  in  1519.  In  1520  he  passed  through 
the  straits  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  which  now  bear  his 
name,  and  in  1521  he  successfully  accomplished  the  purpose  of 
his  voyage.  The  example  of  Magellan  was  followed  by  other 
Spanish  navigators,  but  the  most  important  event  in  the  history 
of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  which  was  to  determine  the  character  of  its 
control  and  trade  for  two  hundred  years,  was  the  occupation  of 
the  Philippine  Islands  by  an  expedition  from  Mexico  under 
Legazpi  in  1565.  Between  1565  and  1572  Legazpi  definitely  won 
the  Philippine  Islands  for  the  Spanish  crown,  and  from  that  time 
onwards  these  islands  remained  under  the  control  of  Spain  and 
their  trade  was  regulated  by  the  annual  Manila  galleons  which 
crossed  the  Pacific  Ocean  by  an  old  and  well-defined  route,  sailing 
north  into  the  latitude  of  northern  California,  which  avoided  con¬ 
tact  with  numerous  islands  of  the  South  Pacific.  The  politics  of 
Europe  now  interfered  for  the  first  time,  as  they  were  to  interfere 
so  often  afterwards,  in  the  question  of  the  dominance  of  the  trade 
of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

It  is  quite  impossible  to  understand  the  history  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  without  bearing  in  mind  at  every  stage  the  history  of  the 
States  of  Europe,  for  it  was  conditions  in  Europe  which  definitely 
decided  the  control  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  In  1580  Portuguese 
independence  disappeared  and  Portugal  and  its  possessions  in 
Africa,  Asia,  and  America  passed  under  the  sway  of  Philip  II  of 
Spain.  This  eliminated  for  sixty  years  a  possible  rivalry  between 
the  Portuguese  from  Asia  and  the  Spaniards  from  America  for 
the  control  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  possession  of  the  Philip¬ 
pine  Islands  assured  the  control  of  communication  by  the  north 
route  to  Spain ;  and,  the  Portuguese  being  exhausted  by  their 
great  efforts  as  explorers,  adventurers,  and  traders,  it  looked  as  if 
the  amalgamation  of  Spain  and  Portugal  into  one  monarchy  had 
definitely  assured  united  control  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  to  the  mighty 
power  of  the  Spanish  Hapsburgs.  But  new  and  unexpected  com¬ 
plications  arose.  Resistance  to  the  Spanish  power  developed 
among  the  English  and  the  Dutch.  In  the  long  fight  that  the 
sailors  of  Queen  Elizabeth  carried  on  against  Spain,  one  striking 
episode  was  the  voyage  of  Sir  Francis  Drake,  who  entered  the 


THE  CONFLICT  OF  EUROPEAN  NATIONS 


27 


Pacific  Ocean  in  1578  by  way  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan  and  who 
took  possession  of  California  in  the  name  of  his  queen  as  “New 
Albion”  in  1579.  After  this  daring  raid  into  the  “Spanish 
Lake,”  as  the  Pacific  Ocean  actually  was,  Drake  crossed  the  ocean 
from  West  to  East  and  safely  returned  to  England.  His  example 
was  followed  by  Cavendish  and  other  adventurous  sailors,  but 
the  attention  of  English  merchants,  like  the  attention  of  Dutch 
merchants,  was  drawn  rather  to  the  successful  trade  in  Asia  than 
to  a  definite  conflict  with  Spain  upon  the  American  coast  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  During  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century 
the  English  bent  their  endeavors  to  establish  trade  with  those 
Asiatic  lands  that  had  been  explored  for  more  than  a  century  by 
the  Portuguese.  Their  chief  rivals  were  the  Dutch  merchants, 
and,  after  the  Massacre  of  Amboyna  in  1623,  a  rough  delimitation 
was  made  which  left  the  English  to  found  their  trade  and  power 
in  India,  while  the  Dutch  took  the  control  of  the  Further  East.  It 
was  from  the  Dutch  Asiatic  capital  at  Batavia  in  Java  that  the 
exploration  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Ocean  was  directed.  The 
great  field,  that  the  Spaniards  had  neglected  from  the  choice  of 
the  northern  route  between  Manila  and  Mexico,  was  now  occupied 
by  the  Dutch.  It  was  Dutch  sailors  who  left  their  names  in  the 
Southern  Pacific.  It  is  true  that  the  great  continent  named  by 
them  “New  Holland”  is  now  called  Australia,  but  the  name 
New  Zealand  shows  its  Dutch  origin  and  the  Island  of  Tasmania 
is  called  after  the  greatest  of  Dutch  explorers,  Abel  Tasman. 
But  the  Dutch  were  not  satisfied  with  exploring  the  Southern 
Pacific.  They  likewise  broke  their  way  into  the  Pacific  Ocean 
through  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  and  it  was  from  a  little  Dutch 
sailing  port  that  Cape  Horn  took  its  name.  Side  by  side  with 
the  competitive  trade  of  the  English  and  the  Dutch  in  Asia  and 
the  Further  East  came  battering  blows  of  English  and  Dutch 
adventurers  against  the  Spanish  monopoly  of  America.  The 
buccaneers  of  the  West  Indies  and  the  Caribbean  Sea,  who  preyed 
upon  the  Spanish  connection  across  the  Atlantic  from  Spanish- 
America  to  Europe,  were  matched  by  the  Dutch  Pichilingues,  a 
band  of  pirates,  who,  with  their  headquarters  in  Lower  California, 
attacked  the  communications  between  Mexico  and  the  Philippine 
Islands  across  the  Pacific  with  as  much  ardor  as  the  buccaneers 


28 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


attacked  Spanish  fleets  and  settlements  upon  the  Atlantic  Coast. 
To  understand  the  meaning  of  the  success  of  these  attempts,  it  is 
necessary  to  bear  in  mind  the  decay  of  the  Spanish  power  in 
Europe  during  the  seventeenth  century.  The  Spain  of  Philip  III 
and  Philip  IV  could  not  sustain  the  efforts  of  its  governors  and 
viceroys  to  beat  off  the  attacks  of  the  English  and  Dutch  pirates 
and  adventurers,  or  maintain  the  monopoly  of  trade  against  the 
trading  skill  of  the  Dutch  and  English  merchants.  A  glance  at 
the  state  of  Europe  in  the  seventeenth  century  shows  the  grasp 
by  the  Dutch  and  English  of  the  meaning  of  “sea  power,”  and, 
although  no  great  Dutch  or  English  fleets  entered  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  the  principle  of  the  control  of  the  seas  was  first  grasped  by 
these  maritime  nations.  Germany,  divided  into  many  States  and 
ravaged  by  the  Thirty  Years’  War,  took  no  part  in  the  competi¬ 
tion  for  the  world’s  trade,  and  it  was  left  to  Dutchmen  and  Eng¬ 
lishmen,  mainly,  to  batter  down  the  portals  of  Spanish  monopoly 
in  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans.  The  occupation  of  the  Island 
of  Jamaica  in  1655  by  Oliver  Cromwell  marked  the  commence¬ 
ment  of  English  colonization  by  conquest ;  while  the  Dutch  East 
India  Empire  extended  from  Batavia  over  the  Spice  Islands, 
and  was  based  upon  the  united  support  given  by  the  Dutch  people 
to  their  East  India  Company. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  dominat¬ 
ing  figure  in  European  politics  was  Louis  XIV  of  France,  and  it  is 
only  by  understanding  the  relations  between  France  and  Spain 
that  it  is  possible  to  realize  how  France  became  the  first  successful 
competitor  of  Spain  upon  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  latter  part 
of  the  seventeenth  century  is  the  great  age  of  French  expansion 
as  well  as  of  French  literature.  Not  only  did  daring  Frenchmen 
explore  the  Saint  Lawrence  and  the  Mississippi,  but  their  activities 
extended  also  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  designs  of  Louis  XIV 
upon  Spain,  which  were  intended  to  bring  about  an  absolute  union 
under  the  Bourbons  of  the  French  and  Spanish  monarchies,  were 
marked  by  periods  of  war  and  periods  of  peace.  It  was  after 
the  treaty  of  Ryswick  in  1697  that  Louis  XIV  began  to  encour¬ 
age  the  movement  of  French  sailors  into  the  Pacific  Ocean.  This 
little-known  episode  of  the  history  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  has  been 
worked  out  by  a  noted  Swedish  scholar,  Dahlgren.  He,  first  of 


THE  CONFLICT  OF  EUROPEAN  NATIONS 


29 


scholars,  looked  over  the  documents  dealing  with  the  French  in 
the  Pacific  Ocean  and  showed  how,  during  the  alliance,  French 
merchants  made  their  way  up  the  Pacific  Coast  from  the  Straits 
of  Magellan  and  broke  into  the  Spanish  monopoly  of  trade  there. 
In  1706  the  King  of  France  gave  authority  under  a  charter  to  a 
Frenchman  named  Danycan  to  establish  a  settlement  on  the 
“Island  of  California”  as  headquarters  of  the  French  trade  in  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  But  again  European  diplomacy  interfered. 
By  the  Treaties  of  Utrecht,  the  crowns  of  France  and  Spain  were 
recognized  as  Bourbon  crowns,  but  the  separation  of  the  two 
states  was  maintained.  France,  as  the  ally  of  Spain,  could  not 
continue  its  incursions  into  the  “Spanish  Lake,”  which  was  the 
Pacific  Ocean;  therefore,  the  activities  of  French  sailors  and 
merchants  there  came  to  an  end,  and  the  Spanish  Bourbon  gov¬ 
ernment,  like  the  previous  Spanish  Hapsburg  government,  fell 
back  into  a  quiet  consciousness  that  there  was  no  need  to  defend 
its  Pacific  Ocean  monopoly.  The  Manila  galleons  peacefully 
crossed  the  Pacific  year  by  year,  and  Spain,  backed  by  France, 
felt  no  need  to  prepare  for  defence. 

But  the  Treaties  of  Utrecht  had  given  the  English  merchants 
certain  rights  of  trade  with  Spanish-America,  and  the  ambitions 
of  English  merchants  had  been  aroused  by  the  tales  which  had 
come  through  France  of  the  wealth  of  the  Pacific.  Then  was 
founded  the  famous  South  Sea  Company,  whose  financial  troubles 
form  an  interesting  episode  in  English  financial  history ;  but  the 
South  Sea  Company  was  rather  a  scheme  of  financiers  than  a 
union  of  traders,  and  while  the  London  East  India  Company  was 
slowly  building  up  the  power  which  eventually  founded  the 
Indian  Empire,  the  London  South  Sea  Company  was  mainly 
interested  in  looking  after  the  prices  of  stock  upon  the  stock 
exchange. 

The  quarter  century  of  peace  which  followed  the  Treaties  of 
Utrecht  was  broken  in  1740  by  the  war  known  as  the  War  of 
the  Austrian  Succession.  One  of  the  most  famous  episodes  of 
this  war  was  Anson’s  incursion  into  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  his 
capture  of  one  of  the  Manila  galleons.  This  proved  to  the  Eng- 
glish  government  the  weakness  of  Spain  in  the  Pacific  and  prepared 
the  way  for  further  schemes  of  aggression  into  the  “Spanish 


30 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Lake.”  During  the  years  of  war  that  followed,  English  statesmen 
and  merchants  cast  their  eyes  longingly  upon  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
and  their  activities  culminated  in  the  capture  of  Manila  by  Gen¬ 
eral  Draper  in  1762.  The  East  India  Company  backed  this 
expedition  and  hoped  to  retain,  if  not  Manila  itself,  at  least  a 
footing  in  the  Philippine  Islands  as  a  base  for  trade  in  the  Further 
East  and  in  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Nearly  one  hundred  years  earlier, 
the  East  India  Company  under  the  administration  of  Sir  Josiah 
Child,  had  made  a  settlement  at  Amoy  in  China  in  1677  with  the 
same  hope,  but  like  Amoy  a  century  earlier,  Manila  was 
abandoned  by  the  English,  who  found  enough  to  occupy  them¬ 
selves  at  this  time  in  the  growth  of  their  power  in  India  to  prevent 
further  efforts  in  the  Further  East.  The  Dutch  had  fallen  from 
their  high  estate  as  a  great  maritime  power  and  were  now  satisfied 
with  the  profits  of  their  trade  with  Java,  Sumatra,  and  the  Spice 
Islands.  But,  although  the  English  and  the  Dutch  had  been  tem¬ 
porarily  eliminated  in  1763,  a  new  giant  power  was  moving  towards 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  Peter  the  Great  of  Russia  had  divided  the 
civilized  world  into  Europe,  Asia,  and  Russia,  and  upon  his  world 
map  was  marked  the  hope  of  the  control  of  all  Siberia.  During 
his  reign,  the  Russians  reached  the  Northern  Pacific,  and  it  was 
under  his  directions  that  Vitus  Bering  began  the  famous  discov¬ 
eries  which  completed  the  knowledge  of  the  extreme  Northern 
Pacific  before  Bering’s  death  in  1741.  During  the  next  twenty- 
five  years,  the  Russians  steadily  moved  down  the  coast  of  Alaska 
and  threatened  to  make  their  way  as  far  as  the  Spanish  settlements 
upon  the  Pacific  Coast. 

After  the  conclusion  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  in  1763,  Charles  III, 
the  enlightened  king  of  Spain,  resolved  to  make  a  great  effort  to 
maintain  the  Spanish  monopoly  in  the  Pacific  Ocean.  On  the 
one  hand  Don  Gaspar  de  Portola  was  sent  north  along  the  coast 
in  1769  to  occupy  and  take  possession  of  the  coast  of  California 
towards  which  the  Russians  were  advancing ;  while  on  the  other 
hand  the  viceroy  of  Peru  sent  out  a  special  expedition  in  1770  to 
take  possession  of  such  islands  in  the  South  Pacific  as  might 
threaten  the  Spanish  monopoly  of  the  western  coast  of  South 
America.  The  policy  of  Charles  III  showed  that  the  Spaniards 
were  alive  to  the  dangers  pressing  upon  them  from  all  directions. 


THE  CONFLICT  OF  EUROPEAN  NATIONS 


31 


The  capture  of  Manila  by  the  English,  and  the  advance  of  the 
Russians,  made  a  definite  policy  necessary,  and  the  last  age  of 
Spanish  exploration  is  made  illustrious  by  the  various  voyages 
up  the  North  Pacific  Coast  from  San  Bias  to  Alaska  and  by  the 
voyage  of  Don  Felipe  Gonzalez  to  Easter  Island.  But  it  was 
too  late.  The  monopoly  of  the  Pacific  could  not  longer  be  main¬ 
tained.  This  is  not  the  place  to  enter  upon  the  history  of  the 
Nootka  Sound  affair,  except  to  point  out  that  the  trade  in¬ 
fluence  which  led  up  to  it  was  the  first  definite  attempt  of  the 
English  merchants  to  get  a  share  of  the  trade  across  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  Even  more  significant  was  the  result  of  the  three  famous 
voyages  of  Captain  Cook,  which,  after  tracing  the  boundaries  of 
New  Holland  and  New  Zealand,  culminated  in  1788  with  the 
establishment  of  a  penal  colony  at  Botany  Bay  under  Governor 
Phillip,  and  thus  led  to  the  definite  establishment  of  English  in¬ 
fluence  in  the  Southern  Pacific  through  the  occupation  of 
Australia. 

The  wars  of  the  French  Revolution  and  of  the  Napoleonic 
period  withdrew  European  interest  from  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and 
for  a  time  ended  the  conflict  of  European  nations  in  that  ocean. 
When  the  curtain  rose  again  after  the  overthrow  of  the  Napoleonic 
Empire  in  1814,  a  new  series  of  contestants  for  the  control  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean  appeared.  In  the  place  of  Spain,  there  developed 
the  Spanish-American  Republics  of  Mexico,  Peru,  and  Chile, 
not  to  speak  of  the  minor  republics  of  Central  America.  To  the 
North  had  arisen  the  Republic  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
whose  skippers  soon  penetrated  the  harbors  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  and  the  Islands  of  Polynesia  on  both  whaling  and  mission¬ 
ary  enterprises.  The  English  definitely  established  themselves 
in  the  Malay  Peninsula,  where  Stamford  Raffles  founded  the 
city  of  Singapore ;  and  the  rapid  colonization  of  Australia  and 
New  Zealand  established  a  definite  English  sphere  of  influence  in 
the  South  Pacific.  It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  deal 
with  the  details  of  the  conflict  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  during  the 
nineteenth  century.  It  has  been  rather  its  purpose  to  point 
out  the  various  stages  of  that  conflict  up  to  the  nineteenth  century. 
So  far  as  the  American  coast  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  concerned, 
the  greatest  events  were  the  definite  establishment  of  the  United 


32 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


States  in  California  by  the  Treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  in 
1848 ;  the  definite  establishment  of  England  in  British  Colum¬ 
bia,  which  was  recognized  by  the  Treaty  of  1846 ;  while  Russia 
eliminated  herself  by  the  sale  of  Alaska  in  1867.  In  the  place  of 
the  old  powers  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  the  Protestant  Netherlands 
and  France,  Russia  and  Great  Britain,  whose  headquarters  were 
in  Europe  and  whose  interests  were  mainly  European,  there  defi¬ 
nitely  appeared  by  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  a  series 
of  specifically  American  powers,  with  purely  American  interests, 
upon  the  American  side  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  in  the  existence  of 
such  States  as  Chile  and  Peru,  Mexico,  the  United  States  and 
Canada.  On  the  Asiatic  side  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  the  appearance 
of  Japan  as  a  great  power  and  the  regeneration  of  China,  half  a 
century  later,  meant  that  the  question  of  the  dominion  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean  was  not  to  be  settled  simply  by  the  American  States, 
but  by  American  and  Asiatic  States.  In  the  Southern  Pacific,  a 
new  power  had  arisen  in  the  English  colonies  of  Australia  and 
New  Zealand ;  and  the  Polynesian  Islands  formed  the  theatre  of 
a  conflict  in  which  France  and  Germany  took  part.  The  most 
significant  affair  of  all  was,  however,  the  occupation  of  the  Philip¬ 
pine  Islands  by  the  United  States  of  America  in  1898.  By  this, 
the  old  tradition  that  the  Philippine  Islands,  though  geographically 
part  of  Asia,  were  politically  part  of  America,  was  maintained; 
and  the  problem  was  set  to  the  United  States,  which  had  for¬ 
merly  been  faced  by  Spain,  of  maintaining  a  connection  across 
the  Pacific  Ocean  from  East  to  West  and  West  to  East. 

The  purpose  of  this  address  has  been  fulfilled  if  attention  has 
been  drawn  by  it  to  the  importance  of  studying  European  history 
for  the  understanding  of  one  period  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The 
conflict  of  European  powers  for  the  control  of  the  Pacific  came 
to  an  end  with  the  eighteenth  century.  The  nineteenth  century 
has  witnessed  rather  the  conflict  of  American  and  Asiatic  powers, 
with  but  slight  intrusion  of  strictly  European  ideas  in  the  occupa¬ 
tion  of  Tahiti  by  the  French,  of  the  Fiji  Islands  by  the  English, 
and  of  part  of  Samoa,  part  of  New  Guinea,  Tsing  Tau,  and  the 
Solomon  Islands  by  Germany.  The  Canadian  Dominion  and 
the  Australian  Commonwealth  may  be  regarded  in  their  interests 
in  the  Pacific  as  independent  States,  rather  than  as  subject  col- 


THE  CONFLICT  OF  EUROPEAN  NATIONS 


33 


onies;  and  the  problem  of  the  Pacific  in  the  twentieth  century 
may  be  that  of  conflict  between  American  and  Asiatic  powers, 
with  only  American  and  Asiatic  interests,  since  the  direct  influ¬ 
ence  of  European  States  has  for  the  moment  entirely  disappeared. 
What  will  be  the  result  of  the  opening  of  the  Panama-Pacific 
Canal?  Will  Europe  again  intervene  politically  or  commer¬ 
cially?  Will  the  fourth  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  resemble  the  second  or  the  third?  One  thing  at  least  is 
certain  —  that  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  is 
closed. 


THE  SHARE  OF  SPAIN  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE 
PACIFIC  OCEAN1 


Rafael  Altamira  y  Crevea 

I  regard  it  as  useless  to  emphasize  the  importance  which  I 
attach  to  this  opportunity,  offered  by  the  meeting  of  the  Historical 
Congress,  to  recall  in  the  presence  of  an  audience  so  familiar 
with  the  subject  and  so  kindly  disposed,  the  general  outlines  of 
a  considerable  portion  of  Spanish  colonial  history. 

In  any  case,  reference  to  the  useful  work  done  in  the  past  by 
the  nation  to  which  one  belongs  amounts  to  authorization  of  our 
right  to  exist  and  to  continue  our  existence  as  associates  in  a  com¬ 
mon  humanity  struggling  for  the  attainment  of  conditions  more 
and  more  civilized  and  prosperous.  But  the  present  occasion, 
because  of  the  many  circumstances  of  which  I  shall  speak  later, 
even  if  you  know  them  well,  increases  notably  the  value  of  calling 
up  the  past. 

Such  a  finality  of  judgment  as  I  may  deliberately  wish  to  give  you 
is  not  incompatible  with  the  scientific  character  of  the  Congress. 
No  one  can  deny  the  Spaniards  the  right  to  concern  themselves 
with  their  own  history  in  a  scientific  sense  and  for  patriotic  ends 
as  well  as  in  the  human  one  of  mere  investigation  of  the  truth  for 
truth’s  sake.  Nor  in  this  case  is  there  any  contradiction  between 
the  two  lines  of  thought,  since  in  last  analysis  what  we  desire  is 
that  the  world  shall  know  the  entire  truth  about  our  history,  and 
not  a  part  of  it  exaggerated  by  unfavorable  prejudices.  When 
the  final  balance  has  been  struck  we  are  confident  that  it  will  be 
rather  more  advantageous  for  us  than  otherwise,  as  reasonably 

1  The  English  translation  of  this  paper  has  been  made  partly  by  my  old  friend 
Professor  William  R.  Shepherd  of  Columbia  University,  New  York,  partly  by 
Mr.  Herbert  I.  Priestley,  University  of  California.  I  give  to  both  of  them  my 
best  thanks  for  their  useful  and  accurate  aid.  The  original  Spanish  version  of  the 
paper  follows,  pp.  55-75. 


34 


SPAIN  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  35 


might  be  supposed  a  priori  of  any  people,  in  view  of  the  very  fact 
that  it  is  made  up  of  men  who  carry  in  their  hearts  along  with  the 
evil  the  good  also  of  the  species  to  which  they  belong. 

Furthermore,  the  point  of  view  to  which  I  refer  arises  naturally 
out  of  the  topic  itself,  chosen  at  the  particular  request  of  our  presi¬ 
dent,  since  in  a  sketch  necessarily  brief  one  finds  it  impossible  to 
dwell  on  the  details  of  recent  investigation  at  once  monographic 
and  specialized.  My  present  duty  is  simply  to  indicate  the  main 
lines  of  a  complex  development  extending  through  several  cen¬ 
turies,  to  offer  a  kind  of  summary  that  for  many  of  you  will  be 
little  more  than  a  reminder  of  things  already  known,  and  for  others 
an  orderly  condensation  of  loose  facts  to  which  I  shall  add  the 
personal  element  of  a  historian’s  opinion. 

It  is  not  true,  indeed,  in  this  field,  nor  in  the  remainder  of  our 
national  history,  that  there  are  no  new  discoveries  or  researches 
to  be  made ;  on  the  contrary,  you  all  know  that  much  remains 
to  be  done  in  this  line.  Even  in  the  matter  of  inventories  of  ma¬ 
terials  available,  a  work  which  is  well  advanced  (and  you  Ameri¬ 
can  historians  have  labored  in  this  field  with  great  assiduity  and 
felicitous  results),  these  inventories  themselves  still  remain  to  be 
profitably  utilized,  since  to  know  merely  that  a  document  exists 
is  not  the  same  as  to  know,  utilize,  and  disseminate  its  contents. 
But  the  fact  is  that  even  in  the  matter  of  knowledge  of  the  mate¬ 
rials  themselves,  every  day  the  investigation  of  the  archives  re¬ 
veals  to  us  something  new,  as  I  had  occasion  not  long  since  to 
prove,  concerning  the  legislative  history  of  our  colonization.  In 
places  other  than  the  Archivo  de  Indias  there  exist  numerous 
documents  not  yet  used,  and  part  of  these  refer  especially  to 
California.  But  I  repeat  that  this  topic  cannot  be  pursued  here, 
lest  I  digress  from  the  general  character  of  the  exposition  which  it 
is  my  duty  to  make  now  in  your  presence. 

Of  course  the  term  “  Pacific  Ocean,”  as  it  appears  in  the  title 
of  my  address,  must  not  be  interpreted  strictly  as  an  allusion  to 
the  history  of  the  Spanish  sea  expeditions  to  this  part  of  the  world. 
In  the  true  geographical  sense  the  Pacific  includes  all  lands  of 
the  continents  bordering  upon  it  and  receiving  from  it  some  of  its 
conditions  of  life.  Both  elements  are  inseparable.  To  speak  of 
the  work  of  Spain  in  the  Pacific  does  not  mean,  in  my  judgment, 


36 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


to  speak  of  Oceania  alone,  but  of  America  as  well,  of  many  an 
American  area  on  which  we  planted  our  foot,  and  among  them  of 
this  one  where  we  now  are. 

This  point  agreed,  it  may  be  observed  that  the  history  of  Spain 
in  the  Pacific  contains  not  only  everything  substantial  in  our  work 
of  colonization,  but  in  quantity  and  even  quality  the  greater  part  of 
it.  One  may  say  that  here  in  this  portion  of  the  Pacific  is  the 
spot  where  the  Spanish  people,  especially  in  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries,  and  also  in  California  in  the  eighteenth, 
applied  the  maximum  of  their  energies  and  afforded  the  greatest 
proofs  of  their  service  in  the  civilization  of  the  world.  It  is  curi¬ 
ous  that  it  should  have  been  so,  but  it  was  not  merely  a  casual  or 
arbitrary  occurrence.  For  some  reason  the  action  of  the  Span¬ 
iards  on  the  American  continents  took  place  above  all  on  the 
shores  of  this  ocean,  that  is  to  say  on  the  coast  remote  from  Europe 
and  not  in  the  Atlantic  just  opposite  to  them.  Consideration 
of  the  reasons  connected  with  this  fact,  those  at  least  visible  to 
us,  is  a  primary  point  worthy  of  the  attention  of  the  true  historian 
who  does  not  detain  himself  over  minute  details  of  erudition. 

That  this  is  true  was  due  at  first  to  the  initial  enterprise 
that  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  America  —  the  westward 
passage  to  the  Indies.  The  barrier  of  new  lands  encountered 
on  the  way,  with  all  its  attractiveness  in  wealth,  actual  and 
dreamed  about,  and  in  the  zest,  so  human  then  and  now,  for 
domination,  could  not  check  the  ultimate  desire.  One  must 
go  onward  toward  the  West,  fulfil  the  thought  of  Columbus, 
arrive  at  the  real  Indies.  Thence  came  the  efforts  to  find  a  passage 
through,  by  the  northwest,  by  the  centre,  by  the  south,  the  enter¬ 
prise  of  Balboa,  the  projects  for  a  canal,  the  multiple  voyages  of 
Spanish  sailors  across  the  seas  from  the  time  of  Magellan  and 
Elcano  onward. 

The  direction  taken  by  Columbus  in  his  first  journey  also 
brought  the  Spaniards  to  the  Pacific.  Had  the  course  been  shifted 
somewhat  to  the  northward,  they,  rather  than  the  English,  would 
perhaps  have  colonized  Virginia  and  New  England  at  a  consider¬ 
able  distance  from  the  Pacific.  Had  it  inclined  more  to  the  south¬ 
ward,  the  great  continental  point  of  the  Guianas  and  Brazil,  to 
the  Spaniards  would  have  been  entrusted  a  task  of  another  sort. 


SPAIN  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  37 


But  Columbus  in  fact  came  to  the  entrance  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
and  hence  directly  to  the  point  most  easily  penetrable  to  the 
Pacific  and  fitted  to  become  the  centre  of  Spanish  colonization 
and  activity. 

A  third  fact  planted  us  here,  also,  away  from  the  Atlantic  areas 
in  question,  the  fact,  namely,  of  discovering  in  regions  bathed 
by  the  Pacific  on  one  side,  like  Mexico,  and  in  others  adjacent 
to  it,  advanced  types  of  aboriginal  civilization  that  abounded  in 
their  appeal  of  wealth  and  glorious  dominion. 

The  westward  trend  of  Spanish  endeavor,  then,  apart  entirely 
from  the  actual  maritime  enterprises  on  the  Pacific,  was  also 
determined  by  the  enterprises,  on  the  Atlantic  side,  of  extraneous 
activities  which  gave  to  France  and  England  almost  all  to  the 
northward  and  to  Portugal  almost  all  to  the  southward,  and  to 
the  two  nations  first  mentioned  a  great  part,  also,  of  the  Antilles, 
which,  even  if  it  were  made  up  only  of  the  smallest  islands,  pos¬ 
sessed  the  greatest  importance  both  numerically  and  commercially. 
In  regard  to  the  south  it  is  well  known  that  the  actual  colonization 
by  Spain  of  the  regions  about  the  River  Plate  (not  the  voyages  of 
discovery,  which  are  another  matter)  belonged  to  a  period  much 
later  and  was  far  from  reaching  the  intensity  and  proportions  of 
that  in  Mexico,  Peru,  Chile,  etc. 

But,  since  there  came  to  be  added  to  the  field  of  history  in  the 
eighteenth  century  as  a  matter  of  doctrine,  the  question  of  what 
each  people  had  contributed  to  the  common  labor  of  civilization 
(not  to  say  that  this  question  had  not  arisen  prior  to  the  eighteenth 
century),  that  which  is  of  most  import  to  general  opinion,  which 
demands  of  history  definite  conclusions  or  at  least  materials  upon 
which  to  base  conclusions,  is  to  know  what  each  nation  has  done 
in  every  sphere  of  its  activity  upon  which  either  favorable  or 
unfavorable  opinion  may  be  based  concerning  its  contribution  to 
civilization. 

It  would  be  necessary  to  extend  this  paper  beyond  bounds 
if  I  should  attempt  now  to  discuss  this  historical  problem  in  rela¬ 
tion  to  the  entire  work  of  Spain  in  America  and  the  islands  of 
the  seas.  In  my  other  works  I  have  spoken  of  this  matter,  or 
shall  soon  do  so,  hence  I  may  be  permitted  to  refer  to  them  in 
outline,  omitting  details  (which  are  often  of  great  importance), 


38 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


a  limitation  imposed  by  the  circumstance  already  alluded  to  of 
the  incompleteness  of  the  publications  yet  issued  in  regard  to 
our  history.  The  general  outline  I  do  believe  has  been  clearly 
traced,  especially  if  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  our  written  history 
has  until  now  consisted  in  great  part  rather  in  the  application  to 
the  facts  of  preconceived  judgments  and  moral  considerations, 
not  always  logical,  than  in  quiet  contemplation  and  balanced 
judgment  of  all  the  facts  in  their  ensemble,  with  their  proper  rela¬ 
tionships  and  counterpoise  just  as  reality  presents  them. 

I  omit,  then,  consideration  of  the  motives  of  our  colonial  move¬ 
ment,  especially  the  characterization  of  it  as  a  selfish,  covetous 
appetite  for  lucre,  as  if  only  the  Spaniards  had  undertaken  coloni¬ 
zation  for  gain  and  the  other  nations  for  philanthropy,  and  as  if  our 
actual  civilization,  so  firmly  established  upon  the  bases  of  economic 
well-being  and  the  development  of  material  interests,  —  to  which 
so  many  things  are  often  sacrificed,  —  could  convert  into  a  defect 
or  even  into  a  crime  the  pursuit  of  riches,  especially  when  this 
motive  was  accompanied  by  others,  of  which  the  history  of  Spain 
offers  many  shining  examples.  Be  whatever  it  may  the  opinion 
in  this  regard,  it  is  fitting  not  to  forget  one  thing  often  remarked 
upon,  but  which  the  exigencies  of  the  argument  demand  should 
be  recalled  again,  and  that  is  that  the  economic  incentive  (either 
among  mere  fortune-hunters  or  among  real  merchants)  carries 
man  to  other  planes  of  life.  A  Spanish  savant,  Professor  Aramburu, 
said  upon  a  memorable  occasion,  referring  to  the  Inquisition,  in 
a  phrase  the  rhetorical  brilliancy  of  which  does  not  conceal  a  fund 
of  keen  historical  perspicacity,  that  it  is  not  within  the  power  of 
man  to  prevent  bonfires  from  giving  light ;  that  is  to  say  that  fire, 
though  it  burns,  illuminates  the  means  by  which  it  will  one  day 
come  to  be  extinguished.  So  also  it  may  be  said,  that  although 
he  may  not  realize  it,  the  gold-hunter  or  the  merchant  cannot 
prevent  the  circumstance  that  with  the  merchandise  with  which 
he  ministers  to  indispensable  necessities,  should  also  be  dissemi¬ 
nated  the  ideas  and  the  civilization  of  the  people  to  whom  he  be¬ 
longs  —  things  well  outside  his  sphere,  and  often  conveying  great 
moral  elevation. 

So  then,  although  the  Spaniards  each  and  all  of  them  who 
came  to  America  or  to  the  Pacific,  or  the  public  powers  of  that 


SPAIN  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  39 


country  and  day,  had  had  no  other  motive  than  covetousness, 
they  would  also  have  necessarily  produced  fundamental  elements 
of  civilization  of  other  types,  and  it  would  be  necessary  to  give 
credit  for  them.  But  it  is  well  known  that  Spain  proposed  other 
things  than  the  mere  economic  benefit  of  her  discoveries,  conquests 
and  colonization.  Among  them  was  the  extension  of  her  religion, 
her  culture,  her  spirit ;  that  is,  to  give  all  that  she  had,  and  that  all 
(much  or  little,  correct  in  all  things  or  mistaken  in  part)  her  very 
own,  which  she  might  contribute  to  the  common  work,  believing 
in  good  faith  that  it  was  her  best  and  desiring  that  all  peoples 
might  participate  in  it  and  (as  it  always  happens  to  every  one, 
since  none  can  give  more  than  he  has)  without  the  power  humanly 
to  give  anything  else,  so  by  that  token  without  responsibility  for 
not  having  given  more. 

Briefly,  then,  let  us  see  what  Spain  accomplished  in  its  general 
activities  throughout  the  continental  areas  bathed  by  the  Pacific, 
on  this  ocean  itself  and  on  its  islands.  As  already  observed,  I 
must  avoid  details,  feeling  assured  as  I  do  of  knowledge  of  them 
possessed  by  my  audience,  who  for  that  reason  can  follow  readily 
the  general  treatment  that  I  have  in  mind  without  seeking  an 
explanation  of  every  fact  mentioned. 

In  the  first  place,  let  us  consider  the  fact  itself  of  the  expeditions 
by  land  and  sea  which  in  a  short  time  and  in  immense  quantity 
added  to  a  knowledge  of  the  planet.  That  result  alone  performed 
a  valuable  service  to  civilization  and  the  progress  of  the  world  ; 
but  in  its  relation  to  the  work  of  Spain  it  possesses  a  most  important 
significance,  because,  as  has  been  pointed  out  very  well  by  Torres 
Campos  in  a  treatise  concerning  California  itself  (and  along  with 
him  Fernandez  Duro  and  others),  the  extension  of  Spanish  effort 
in  that  field  shows  that  the  Spanish  people  here  were  not  merely 
mine-hunters  and  warlike  conquerors,  but  geographical  explorers 
to  whom  are  due  a  long  series  of  discoveries  superior  in  this  respect 
to  everything  achieved  in  those  centuries  by  other  peoples  in  this 
part  of  the  world.  The  actual  frequency  of  the  voyages  and  the 
abundance  of  accounts  of  them  which  everyone  nowadays  may  read 
and  does  read,  have  exhausted  our  admiration  for  those  deeds  with 
which  we  are  familiar.  Only  when  some  exceptional  act  of  valor 
is  performed,  like  that  of  Scott  for  example,  do  we  fix  our  attention 


40 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


on  it,  regarding  it  as  something  heroic  and  worthy  of  making  proud 
the  men  who  achieved  it  and  the  people  to  whom  they  belonged. 
But  in  general  we  have  lost  or  lowered  considerably  our  ability 
to  appreciate  the  valor  of  effort  in  such  undertakings,  more  diffi¬ 
cult  and  appreciable  in  proportion  as  we  go  back  into  history  and 
encounter  men  who  accomplished  the  same  feats  or  even  greater 
ones  than  those  of  to-day,  with  fewer  means  and  hence  with  a 
greater  expenditure  of  personal  energy.  And  if  to  this  trait  in 
the  spirit  of  man  to-day  we  add  the  neglect  visited  upon  the  his¬ 
tory  and  remembrance  of  Spanish  travellers,  together  with  the 
deliberate  silence  or  unconscionable  ignorance  about  them  long 
since  common  among  foreign  writers,  one  can  understand  how  diffi¬ 
cult  it  is  now  to  give  a  clear  idea  of  Spanish  enterprises  of  the  sort 
in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  It  is  evident  also 
that  the  public  at  large,  creating  as  it  does  the  collective  opinion 
about  history,  through  what  is  supplied  by  specialists  or  met  with 
in  the  legends  of  common  knowledge,  is  unable  to-day  to  form  a 
definite  idea  of  that  great  work  of  Spain  in  its  entirety,  because 
of  the  lack  of  a  picture  of  it  which  brings  together  and  condenses 
all  its  elements. 

At  this  point  it  should  be  stated,  furthermore,  that  the  voyages 
and  discoveries  undertaken  by  the  Spaniards  were  not  the  fruit 
of  chance,  or  of  a  disordered  action  of  individuals  (even  allowing 
for  the  very  respectable  share  of  individual  initiative  in  human 
endeavor).  Neither  were  they  merely  the  fortuitous  consequences 
of  attempts  that  had  failed  in  some  other  direction,  as  many, 
with  pardonable  error,  asserted,  including  authors  very  favorably 
disposed  toward  the  colonial  history  of  Spain.  Quite  to  the 
contrary.  On  the  part  of  the  elements  directing  Spanish  action 
in  the  New  World  and  beyond  and  in  the  bent  of  mind  visible 
among  the  travellers  themselves  viewed  as  a  body,  there  was  some¬ 
thing  reflexive,  systematic,  and  orderly  that  befitted  the  final 
realization  of  an  object  upheld  in  spite  of  the  more  personal  and 
egoistic  purposes  of  some  of  the  discoverers.  This  purposeful 
endeavor,  as  I  have  observed,  had  two  main  lines  of  action  before 
it :  the  one,  to  carry  out  the  thought  of  Columbus  in  its  original 
form  of  arriving  at  the  East  Indies,  establishing  direct  relations 
between  them  and  Spain  and  utilizing  their  products  for  Spanish 


SPAIN  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  41 


commerce ;  the  other,  to  know  well,  in  every  aspect  that  might 
be  of  interest  (not  only  in  the  political  and  in  the  strictly  economic 
sense)  the  new  lands  that  had  been  found,  by  bringing  together 
and  centralizing  the  information  constantly  assembled  by  the 
explorers. 

The  first  object  was  not  fully  realized,  because  the  Portuguese, 
arriving  from  the  East,  had  closed  the  way  and  prevented  Spain, 
despite  lengthy  negotiations  known  to  everyone,  from  securing 
more  than  a  small  portion  of  the  island  territory  adjacent  to  Asia. 
The  commercial  current  setting  in  from  this  direction,  instead  of 
moving  toward  Spain,  that  is,  from  East  to  West,  by  the  Portu¬ 
guese  route  itself,  moved  from  West  to  East,  that  is,  from  China, 
Japan,  and  the  Philippines,  and  thence  across  the  Pacific  toward 
America  and  eventually  Spain,  thus  creating  the  first  commer¬ 
cial  highway  in  that  ocean  and  by  Spanish  effort.  The  day  when 
one  knows  well  the  history  of  that  highway,  of  the  mercantile 
transactions  associated  with  it,  of  its  chief  agency  the  Acapulco 
galleon  (and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  promised  work  of  Mr. 
Schurz  will  make  good  progress  in  the  matter  concerning  which 
there  is  much  yet  unpublished  to  be  seen)  and  of  the  other  elements 
that  go  to  make  them  up,  we  shall  see  the  importance  it  had,  alike 
in  itself  and  as  a  precedent  for  modern  development.  Then,  too, 
we  shall  perceive  how  many  Spanish  enterprises  in  Oceania,  appar¬ 
ently  disconnected  and  casual,  were  united  from  within  by  the 
desire  to  subserve  the  great  commercial  object  in  question,  seek¬ 
ing  out  its  main  line  and  assuring  it  as  much  as  possible.  Other 
enterprises  were  brought  together  for  objects  independent  of  this 
and  derived,  partly  from  the  consequences  that  every  discovery 
entails  by  giving  rise  to  new  geographical  and  cosmographical 
problems,  partly  also  from  the  general  eagerness,  very  active 
at  that  time  in  the  minds  of  the  Spanish  pilots,  captains,  and 
adventurers,  to  discover  for  the  sake  of  the  satisfaction  of  dis¬ 
covery  in  itself,  or  for  the  advantages  of  conquest  and  the  economic 
utility.  Finally,  a  third  group  was  one  set  in  action  by  the 
necessity  of  knowing  the  coasts  of  the  new  ocean  ;  first,  proceeding 
from  the  Isthmus  and  New  Spain  to  the  north  and  south  (with 
new  incentives  at  times  like  that  which  led  to  the  several  voyages 
of  Pizarro  and  his  companions) ;  then,  also  from  Peru  and  Chile 


42 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


to  the  south,  for  the  purpose  of  connecting  with  the  discovery 
by  Magellan,  apart  from  the  impulse  in  various  senses  afforded 
by  the  eagerness  to  discover  the  maritime  passage  between  the 
two  oceans. 

Two  points  of  capital  interest  are  noticeable  in  this  long  history 
of  the  discoveries  and  both  were  the  work  of  Spaniards  :  one  was 
the  discovery  by  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  the  vast  importance  of 
which  is  recognized  by  the  entire  world,  the  epic  valor  of  which 
was  sung  by  one  American  writer,  Washington  Irving,  and  to  the 
history  of  which  a  Spanish  author,  Altolaguirre,  has  just  contrib¬ 
uted  a  large  amount  of  material ; 1  the  other  was  rendered  effective 
by  Magellan  with  Spanish  money,  ships  and  men,  and  led  to 
the  first  circumnavigation  of  the  globe,  with  which  deed  is 
connected  the  name  of  the  Spaniard,  Elcano.  But  the  day  when 
these  three  glorious  names,  that  everyone  knows,  and  a  few  more 
of  like  celebrity,  are  combined  in  the  familiarity  of  popular 
consciousness  with  all  those  who  contributed  with  their  efforts 
and  their  successes  greater  or  smaller  to  the  secular  work  of  dis¬ 
covering  the  huge  Pacific  and  most  of  its  lands  to  the  east  and  to 
the  west  and  within  the  vast  sweep  of  its  waters,  everyone  will 
recognize  then  what  only  a  few  specialists  know  now.  It  is  that 
not  merely  the  exploration  of  the  American  coast  on  the  west, 
with  scant  exception  in  the  extreme  north,  was  entirely 
Spanish  in  its  accomplishment,  but  a  large  portion  of  the  islands 
of  the  Pacific  also  owe  their  discovery  to  Spanish  sailors  who  threw 
themselves  into  the  work  with  so  much  tenacity  and  vigor,  un¬ 
mindful  of  perils  which,  as  one  author  has  observed,  caused  more 
than  eighty  per  cent  of  them  to  perish  in  those  hazardous  voyages ; 
and  all  this  without  producing  in  two  centuries  any  stoppage  of 
the  current  of  venture,  while  at  the  same  time  it  left  behind,  in 
spite  of  the  misfortunes  of  many  an  expedition,  a  glorious  record 
of  discoveries  and  descriptive  studies. 

I  refrain  from  giving  here  a  list  of  names,  which  might  seem  a 
vain  boast  of  erudition,  useless  indeed  if  merely  a  list  is  given, 
and  there  is  not  space  for  more ;  but  I  do  wish  to  say  once  again 
that  in  this  matter  all  the  data  which  have  come  down  to  us  have 


1  Angel  de  Altolaguirre  y  Duvale,  Vasco  NuUez  de  Balboa  (Madrid,  1914). 


SPAIN  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  43 


not  been  published,  nor  have  those  which  are  known  been  gathered 
together,  in  spite  of  the  valuable  labors  of  Jimenez  de  la  Espada, 
Zaragoza,  Ferreiro,  Coello,  Duro,  Beltran,  and  other  Spaniards, 
Collingridge,  Morgan,  and  a  few  others  among  foreigners  who, 
with  sympathetic  attitude  toward  Spain,  have  undertaken  investi¬ 
gations  of  this  character.  When  that  work,  which  is  now  lacking, 
has  been  done,  will  be  seen  not  only  how  much  of  our  knowledge 
of  the  Pacific  is  due  to  the  efforts  of  the  Spaniards  whose  now  un¬ 
known  names  will  stand  out  in  high  relief,  but  also  we  shall  know 
how  full  of  dramatic  episodes  and  impelling  curiosity  is  the  history 
of  Spanish  navigation,  in  which,  that  nothing  should  lack,  there 
were  even  women  captains  of  expeditions ;  and  how  in  Peru  there 
were  women  who  governed  as  viceroys  during  interregnums, 
showing  that  our  ideas  and  customs  of  those  times  were  not  repug¬ 
nant  to  the  spirit  of  feminism.  It  will  also  be  seen  how  erroneous 
is  the  affirmation  made  by  some  persons  that  the  Spaniards  were 
not  natural  navigators  since  all  the  pilots  of  their  expeditions 
were  foreigners,  for  it  will  be  demonstrated  that  many  native-born 
Spaniards  played  principal  roles  in  the  development  of  precision 
,  in  cosmographical  studies  by  writing  works  which  were  trans¬ 
lated  and  copied  in  other  countries  of  Europe  by  cartographers, 
and  it  will  be  demonstrated  that  this  advancement  in  cosmography 
had  created  a  propitious  medium  for  the  development  of  excellent 
mariners. 

With  respect  to  the  other  purpose  already  mentioned,  that  of 
determining  as  exactly  as  possible  the  knowledge  of  the  newly 
discovered  lands  in  all  aspects,  it  will  suffice  to  notice,  in  order 
that  it  may  be  apparent  that  the  effort  was  made  with  a  clear 
idea  of  what  was  desired  and  a  profound  understanding  of  the 
difficulty  of  the  enterprise  —  first,  the  well-matured  plan  of  the 
Relaciones  de  las  Indias  which  our  Jimenez  de  la  Espada 
issued  so  brilliantly  in  his  well-known  collection  of  documents 
(afterwards  continued  in  various  other  publications)  ;  and,  second, 
the  making  of  the  Padron  de  Indias  definitely  to  correspond 
with  the  Relaciones;  finally,  the  systematic  preparation  of 
purely  scientific  expeditions,  such  as  the  well-known  one  of  Dr. 
Hernandez  in  the  time  of  Philip  II.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  this 
expedition,  and  others  of  those  centuries,  were  not  sporadic  and 


44 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


isolated,  but  were  valuable  links  in  a  long  chain,  more  or  less 
closely  connected  according  to  circumstances,  but  practically 
uninterrupted ;  the  final  episodes  of  these  voyages  were  marked, 
in  the  eighteenth  century,  by  numerous  expeditions  of  famous 
Spanish  naturalists  (not  considering  that  of  Jorge  Juan  and 
Ulloa).  In  the  nineteenth  century,  as  a  conclusion  of  these,  oc¬ 
curred  the  expedition  called  the  Pacific  Expedition,  in  which  was 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  fame  of  Jimenez  de  la  Espada.  Among 
these  voyages  there  should  be  found  a  place  in  which  to  group 
also  those  of  Bonpland  and  Humboldt  —  for,  while  it  is  true 
that  these  were  performed  by  men  of  other  nationalities,  it  is  no 
less  true  that  they  were  assisted  amply  in  their  efforts  by  the 
Spanish  government. 

In  view  of  all  this,  it  is  not  strange  that,  shortly  after  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  discoveries,  there  should  have  been  published  not  only 
books  like  the  short  but  interesting  one  of  Enciso,  but  fuller 
accounts  such  as  the  Geografia  y  Descripcion  de  las  Indias,  com¬ 
piled  by  the  cosmographer,  Juan  Lopez  de  Velasco,  thirty  years 
before  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  in  part  derived  from 
the  labors  begun  in  the  Council  of  the  Indies  to  form  the  above- 
mentioned  Relaciones.1  In  this  work  there  are  many  accounts 
of  the  islands  of  the  deep  ocean  ( islas  de  Poniente ),  especially  the 
Moluccas,  the  Philippines,  New  Guinea,  Solomon  Islands,  Ladron 
Islands,  and  the  coasts  of  China,  Japan,  and  the  Lequios  (Loo- 
chow).  In  the  same  manner,  and  in  the  light  of  all  that 
scientific  preparation,  based  on  the  numberless  materials  ob¬ 
tained  by  travellers  and  missionaries  (from  the  naturalists  to 
those  whom  we  to-day  would  call  sociologists),  one  may  appreciate 
what  rich  treasures  of  all  kinds  exist  in  our  chroniclers  of  the 
Indies ;  in  some,  because  they  utilize  that  material,  and  in 
others  because  they  were  prepared  by  the  atmosphere  of  the 
epoch  to  see  the  reality  of  the  new  world  with  a  width  of  vision 
and  with  a  complexity  of  programme  to  which  they  never  would 
have  been  drawn  by  the  learned  traditions  of  the  historiography 
then  dominant  in  the  Old  World. 

When  the  history  of  all  these  facts  shall  be  written  in  its  en¬ 
tirety,  and  placed  before  the  public  in  proper  form,  adequate 

1  First  published  in  1894,  with  additions  and  illustrations,  by  Don  Justo  Zaragoza. 


SPAIN  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  45 


proof  will  be  presented  that  the  Spaniards  were  predecessors  of 
navigators  of  other  nations  in  voyages  repeated  later  by  foreigners, 
aside  from  those  which  are  exclusively  and  undisputedly  Spanish. 

But  I  do  not  desire,  nor  could  I  well  leave  the  present  topic 
without  referring  by  way  of  a  slight  digression  to  a  matter,  the 
importance  of  which  has  been  during  the  current  year  raised  to 
a  high  degree  of  interest.  I  refer  to  the  Panama  Canal.  Here, 
less  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world,  do  I  need  to  extol  the 
value  which  the  opening  of  the  Canal  will  have  in  human  history ; 
but  it  is  not  for  the  purpose  of  lauding  the  enterprise  that  I  here 
make  mention  of  it,  but  rather  to  point  out  the  share  which  the 
Spaniards  have  had  in  earlier  efforts  to  effect  what  has  been  now 
realized. 

Here  again  is  a  subject  which  as  yet  lacks  a  definitive  study. 
The  book  recently  produced  by  the  learned  Spaniard,  Senor 
Manjarres,1  although  it  adds  many  notices  to  those  already  well- 
known  and  oft-repeated,  included  in  the  handbooks  of  history, 
does  not  exhaust  the  accounts  which  might  be  adduced.  Man¬ 
jarres  cites  in  his  work  twenty-one  projects  —  all  Spanish  (with 
one  exception  — -  that  of  M.  de  Per  de  la  Nouerre)  —  from  the 
first  project  of  Hernan  Cortes  to  cut  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec, 
to  that  of  the  Deputy  to  the  Cortes  of  Cadiz,  Don  Jose  A.  Lopez 
de  la  Plata.  To  these  there  might  have  been  added,  among 
those  which  are  well  known,  that  of  Galve  (sixteenth  century),  that 
of  the  Consulado  de  Comercio  y  Navegacion  (communication  by 
way  of  Patagonia)  or  even  that  which  La  Bastide  (although  that 
was  not  a  Spanish  enterprise,  according  to  the  name  of  the  author) 
presented  to  Charles  IV.  Be  whatever  may  the  number  finally 
verified,  two  facts  stand  out  sharply  to  link  the  name  of  Spain 
perpetually  to  the  great  modern  work  accomplished,  just  as  the 
name  of  Balboa  is  perpetually  associated  with  the  discovery  of 
one  of  the  oceans  now  united.  The  first  is,  that  Spain  contem¬ 
plated  from  the  very  first  years  the  opening  of  an  artificial  water¬ 
way  (since  no  natural  one  existed  save  at  the  extremes  of  the 
continent)  between  the  Pacific  and  the  Atlantic;  and  that,  in 
the  conception  of  the  idea  of  this  undertaking,  as  well  as  in  the 

1  Ram6n  de  Manjarr4s,  Proyectos  Espaholes  de  Canal  Interocednico  (Rev.  de  Arch. 
Bib.,  y  Mus.,  Enero  4  Abril,  1914). 


46 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


formation  of  projects  for  its  realization,  in  explorations  and  pre¬ 
paratory  labors,  to  Spain  also  belongs  the  precedence.  When 
Champlain  in  1600  conceived  the  idea  of  the  canal,  years  had 
already  elapsed  since  Spaniards  had  not  only  had  the  identical 
idea,  in  view  of  the  need  of  such  a  waterway,  and  with  direct 
knowledge  of  the  lands  in  which  its  construction  was  possible,  but 
had  decided  various  projects  for  utilizing  several  practicable 
routes  (Tehuantepec,  Nicaragua,  Panama).  Spain  did  not  in 
the  end  construct  the  canal  on  account  of  the  coincidence  of  nu¬ 
merous  causes,  among  which,  in  the  eighteenth  century  especially, 
was  one  of  especial  weight,  —  that  the  new  communication  might 
prove  a  source  of  international  complications.  But  Spain  never 
ceased  during  three  centuries  to  think  of  the  project ;  nor  did  she 
ever,  as  Humboldt  himself  recognizes,  prohibit  speaking  or  writ¬ 
ing  about  the  piercing  of  the  isthmus. 

All  these  vast  efforts  toward  understanding  and  getting  benefit 
from  these  new  lands  and  seas  produced,  aside  from  the  dis¬ 
coveries  themselves  and  the  numerous  problems  which  the  needs 
of  the  time  suggested,  a  series  of  secondary  but  none  the  less  im¬ 
portant  consequences,  which  must  also  be  included  in  a  sketch  of 
Spanish  activities  in  the  regions  of  the  Pacific.  These  were, 
succinctly  stated,  knowledge  of  geography  and  geology  (in  so  far 
as  these  fields  of  learning,  until  then  without  name  or  scope,  could 
be  furthered  by  the  observations  of  the  explorers),  of  botany, 
zoology,  and  mineralogy  (with  all  the  applied  skill  which  mining 
demands,  in  which  the  Spaniards  realized  considerable  progress 
by  means  of  metallurgical  methods  of  which  some  are  still  in  use)  ; 
of  native  dialects  (in  which  the  studies  of  our  missionaries  are  of 
prime  importance,  as  is  well  known,  and  of  truly  extraordinary 
number) ;  and  of  the  customs,  social  organization,  traditions  and 
history  of  the  Amerinds,  which  keenly  interested  the  Spaniards, 
including  those  religious  matters  which  departed  most  from  Span¬ 
ish  tradition.  As  a  result  of  all  these  labors  in  different  fields  there 
remains  the  most  ample  and  abiding  source  of  materials  for  mod¬ 
ern  investigations.  If  to  all  this  immense  labor  is  added  the  inten¬ 
tional  introduction  into  America  of  over  170  species  of  plants 
and  animals  here  unknown  hitherto,  some  of  which  throve  and 
became  characteristically  American ;  and  if  we  add  the  introduc- 


SPAIN  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  47 


tion  into  Europe  of  trees  and  of  plants  such  as  the  potato,  the  to¬ 
mato,  Indian  corn,  the  pita,  the  aguacate,  the  batata,  the  Chilian 
and  Virginian  strawberries,  etc.,  we  shall  have  a  well-rounded 
picture  of  the  useful  and  civilizing  labors,  material  as  well  as  spirit¬ 
ual,  which  the  Spaniards  effected  in  their  contact  with  the  new 
lands  discovered  upon  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific. 

This  picture  signifies,  in  fact,  the  introduction  of  European 
civilization  into  America  and  many  of  the  islands  of  the  sea. 
Before  that,  all  that  existed  in  America  was  prehistoric,  in  spite 
of  the  material  and  artistic  advancement  which  certain  civiliza¬ 
tions  present  without  having  essentially  passed  beyond  the  actual 
boundaries  of  the  primitive.  Through  Spain,  America  became 
incorporated  in  that  Westward  Movement  which  has  come  to  be 
theautonomastical  civilizing  mould  of  the  greater  part  of  the  world. 
Thus  Spain  was  the  first  teacher  (in  order  of  time)  of  citizenship, 
o1'  the  Christian  life,  and  of  classic  culture  elaborated  anew  upon 
the  fabric  of  the  original  European  organization  of  the  Middle 
Ages. 

And  it  is  fitting  to  say  that  the  importance  of  Spanish  activities 
in  America  is  not  only  quantitative,  but,  in  many  of  them,  qualita¬ 
tive.  The  long  list  of  names  which  might  be  presented,  Oviedo, 
Acosta,  Hernandez,  Ximenez,  Gomez  Ortega,  Sahagun,  Herrera, 
Lozano,  Carmona,  Mutis,  Ruiz,  Pavon,  Azara,  Sesse,  Mocino, 
Ulloa,  Jorge  Juan,  Pineda,  Malaspina,  Medina,  Saavedra,  Barba, 
Fernandez  de  Velasco,  Contreras,  Acuna,  Ovalle,  Lopez  Medel, 
Elhuyar,  and  many  others  who  might  be  named,  —  is  vindicated 
by  the  judgment  which  the  labor  accomplished  has  merited  in 
modern  times,  from  specialists  not  to  be  suspected  of  Spanish 
leanings;  men  like  Humboldt,  Linnaeus,  Lyell,  Hoefer,  Sonne- 
schmidt,  and  many  others.  Of  a  transient,  casual  activity,  product 
of  futile  curiosity  without  scientific  direction,  it  might  not  be  said, 
as  it  has  of  those  Spanish  activities  to  which  I  now  refer,  that 
“no  nation  has  made  greater  sacrifices  for  the  advancement  of 
botany  ”  ;  that  in  Oviedo  and  Acosta  are  found  “the  fundamentals 
of  what  we  to-day  call  natural  science  ;  ”  that  “  since  the  foundation 
of  society,  in  no  other  epoch  (as  in  that  of  our  discoveries)  had 
widened  so  marvellously  and  suddenly  the  circle  of  ideas  touching 
the  exterior  world  and  relations  of  space  or  that  the  “Spanish 


48 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


descriptions  of  American  countries  are  distinguished  for  their 
precision”  —  (the  judgment  of  Lyell),  etc. 

We  may,  then,  rest  assured  of  having  contributed  to  the  labors 
of  human  science  a  treasure  which  warrants  us  to  ask  recognition 
as  distinguished  collaborators. 

There  are  certainly,  along  with  these  contributions,  which  are 
now  coming  to  be  recognized  by  general  opinion,  other  acts  of  ours 
in  all  the  colonies,  hence  in  those  to  which  this  paper  refeis,  con¬ 
cerning  which  we  have  for  centuries  been  hearing  terrible  censures. 
First  of  all,  it  is  fitting  to  say  frankly  that  although  all  the  accusa¬ 
tions  against  Spain  should  be  true,  especially  with  regard  to  treat¬ 
ment  of  the  natives,  these  censures  would  not  invalidate  the 
importance  of  any  of  the  services  to  civilization  just  enumerated. 
In  order  that  judgment  upon  a  man  or  a  country  may  be  just, 
it  is  necessary  to  impute  to  them  all  that  they  have  done,  both 
good  and  bad.  To  pretend  that  since  the  latter  exists  all  the 
former  is  to  be  blotted  out,  is  an  injustice,  and,  moreover,  an  un¬ 
reality.  Each  fact  in  history  remains  indelible,  be  what  it  may ; 
the  neglect  or  the  malice  of  man  may  obscure  it  for  a  time,  but  in 
spite  of  that  it  shall  not  disappear  from  the  debit  or  credit  of  its 
author,  upon  whose  responsibility  or  vainglory  it  shall  forever 
rest  with  an  intrinsic  value  which  nothing  can  countervail.  All 
that  we  have  claimed  remains,  then,  as  has  been  stated ;  let  us 
proceed  to  examine  these  other  spiritual  phases  with  which  we  are 
now  dealing. 

After  much  discussion,  a  great  portion  of  opinion  has  settled 
upon  this  formula  of  compromise ;  Spain  conceived  and  wrote 
the  most  humane  and  elevated  legislation  for  inferior  peoples 
which  is  known  to  history,  but  this  legislation  (as  well  as  that  for 
governmental  administration,  which  also  interested  the  Spaniards) 
remained  a  dead  letter  in  spite  of  the  existence  and  the  propaganda 
of  numerous  defenders  of  human  rights,  not  only  for  the  Indians, 
but  also  for  the  negroes,  it  being  granted  that  the  first  known 
abolitionists  were  Spaniards. 

I  do  not  believe  that  this  formula  expresses  the  reality  of  events 
as  they  occurred.  Let  it  be  noted  that  if  it  is  accepted  as  valid, 
it  is  equivalent  to  acknowledging  that,  save  for  a  restricted  minor¬ 
ity  of  cultivated  and  generous  men  who  conceived  and  issued 


SPAIN  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  49 


those  laws,  from  the  time  of  Queen  Isabella,  and  who  in  the 
professor’s  chair,  on  the  printed  page,  and  in  the  pulpit  de¬ 
fended  the  liberty  and  dignity  of  the  Indians  and  negroes  — 
save  for  these,  that  the  mass  of  Spaniards  were  so  cruel  and 
undisciplined,  or  were  so  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  general 
ideas  of  contempt  for  inferiors  and  desire  for  their  exploita¬ 
tion  which  prevailed  at  that  time  in  Europe  (and  indeed  these 
same  ideas  were  applied  by  all  the  other  colonizing  powers)  that 
they  neither  complied  with  these  laws,  nor  omitted  a  single  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  sacrifice  to  their  selfishness  and  ferocity  all  the  peoples 
with  whom  they  came  in  contact.  We  must,  no  doubt,  acknowl¬ 
edge  this  minority,  which  was  as  Spanish  as  the  supposed  majority 
which  cherished  opposite  sentiments  and  ideas,  but  I  repeat  that 
this  does  not,  in  my  opinion,  convey  the  whole  truth. 

Note  that  I  say  the  truth.  I  do  not,  by  this  token,  take  the 
purely  patriotic  point  of  view,  which  tries  to  deny  sentimentally  that 
which  appears  unfavorable  to  my  native  land ;  I  assume  a  scien¬ 
tific  point  of  view,  in  saying  that  that  formula  (which  is  indeed  a 
priori  absurd,  since  it  divides  essentially  the  two  spheres,  that  of 
the  ideal  and  that  of  practical  life,  as  though  they  belonged  to 
distinct  worlds)  does  not  express  the  truth  as  it  occurred.  Many 
North  American  writers  accept  the  position  that,  with  regard  to 
our  colonial  system,  “  many  of  its  errors  and  shortcomings  existed 
because  of  the  incompetence  and  venality  of  subordinate  officials,” 
and  not  from  poor  organization  or  the  intention  of  the  officers 
of  central  government,  of  the  viceroys  and  higher  functionaries. 
This,  if  true  in  general  terms  (allowing  for  exceptions  among  those 
same  higher  functionaries,  not  all  of  whom  were  impeccable,  and 
it  would  suffice  to  mention  a  few  names  from  Nueva  Espana, 
Tierra  Firme,  Peru,  etc.)  —  that  is,  only  to  transfer  the  respon¬ 
sibility,  as  in  the  previous  case,  and  the  evil  intent,  to  those 
beneath,  who  were  in  the  majority,  thus  confusing  in  a  single 
sweeping  judgment  of  venality  and  incompetence,  all  subaltern 
employees. 

Well,  then,  it  is  indubitable  that  this  constitutes  an  error  and 
an  injustice.  It  is  not  historically  accurate  to  say  that  in  Spanish 
colonization  there  were  two  distinct  worlds ;  one  above,  endowed 
with  the  grandest  human  ideas  and  intentions,  another  below 


50 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


but  much  greater,  for  whom  these  ideas  were  a  dead  letter.  The 
actual  fact  is  that  in  both  classes  there  were  humane,  honorable, 
and  just  people  who  knew  how  to  be  faithful  to  the  spi  it  of  the 
laws  (which  were  essentially  our  own,  that  is  to  say,  they  were 
the  product  of  our  spirit  and  not  of  another  people’s).  So  were 
there  also  those  of  the  opposite  character.  Side  by  side  with  the 
legislators,  with  the  apostles  like  Las  Casas,  with  the  scientists 
like  Vitoria,  there  was  a  legion  of  people  who  were  in  immediate 
contact  with  the  natives,  and  hence  were  obliged  to  practice  their 
ideas  —  missionaries,  conquerors,  encomenderos,  miners,  colonists 
of  diverse  types  —  who  did  not  perpetrate  cruelties  nor  even  those 
abuses  and  acts  of  exploitation  which  even  to-day  are  considered 
permissible  or  explainable  among  the  most  advanced  peoples  of 
the  earth,  if  practiced  upon  those  who  are  economically  or  anthro¬ 
pologically  inferior.  The  historical  question  then  is  to  establish 
what  number  of  abuses  actually  existed,  and  in  what  proportion 
with  the  cases  of  humanity  and  faithful  application  of  the  laws 
for  natives  did  they  occur.  We  must  also  take  account  —  along 
with  the  irregularities  —  of  those  measures  taken  by  a  central 
government  not  impeccable  no  doubt,  but  conforming  to  the  mode 
of  civilization  then  everywhere  in  vogue. 

This  task,  the  labor  of  the  historical  investigator,  which  will 
slowly  be  finished  as  we  come  more  and  more  to  know  the  details 
and  can  measure  the  exactitude  of  the  allegations  made  up  to 
now,  as  well  as  the  value  of  general  and  inexact  statements  (so 
natural  in  those  who  preach  a  doctrine  or  complain  of  what  seems 
to  them  evil  in  the  portrayal  of  which  they  need  to  accentuate 
in  order  to  command  attention)  —  this  task,  I  say,  will  give 
us  an  exact  measure,  or  an  approximate  one,  of  the  proportion 
in  which  acts  were  good  or  bad.  But  however  numerous  the  latter 
may  have  been,  they  will  never  be  able  to  invalidate  the  reality 
or  destroy  the  merit :  first,  of  our  laws  of  the  Indies ;  second,  of 
the  long  line  of  our  humanitarian  writers  or  of  our  jurists  of  refined 
legal  judgment ;  or  third,  of  the  long  roll  of  our  benevolent  and 
charitable  men,  humane  toward  the  Indians,  and  faithful  to  pro¬ 
fessional  duty,  whom  our  history  unquestionably  presents.  It 
would  suffice  to  mention  —  and  this  is  only  a  part  of  this  group  — 
the  list  of  our  missionaries,  really  Christlike  in  their  procedure,  in 


SPAIN  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  51 


order  that  Spain’s  credit  column  might  show  a  respectable  balance. 
California  herself  is  not  the  part  of  America  where  with  least 
justice  this  memory  might  be  invoked. 

There  would  still  remain,  in  this  matter,  something  very  impor¬ 
tant  to  be  done  before  arriving  at  a  just  appreciation  of  the  facts ; 
that  would  be  the  application  to  proved  abuses  (in  peace  or  war, 
through  motives  of  conquest  or  economic  relations)  the  criteria  of 
legal  and  moral  judgment  which  the  majority  of  mankind  of  that 
day  and  of  this  apply  to  non-Spanish  acts  of  the  same  category. 
In  the  question  of  injuries  to  one’s  neighbor,  there  are  but  two 
positions :  the  philanthropic,  which  must  needs  be  pacificist, 
and  which  has  resulted  in  ill  for  all  the  nations  of  history ;  and 
that  which  we  might  call  the  realistic,  which  recognizes  what  is 
inevitable  in  human  relations  such  as  have  been  until  now  preva¬ 
lent,  or  excuses  that  which  everyone  did  and  still  continues  doing. 
If  the  first  of  these  positions  is  sincerely  adopted,  truly  many  acts 
of  our  conquest  and  colonization  will  be  condemned,  but  by  the 
same  token  the  same,  or  even  worse  acts  at  times,  of  the  other 
colonizing  powers  from  the  remotest  antiquity  until  now  will  be 
equally  condemned.  To  apply  to  us  exclusively  this  criterion,  as 
do  many  foreign  writers,  and  some  Spaniards  as  well  who  are  less 
nationalistic  than  desirous  not  to  compromise  themselves  by 
excusing  deeds  whicji  their  consciences  now  condemn,  is  notori¬ 
ous  injustice.  But  we  must  agree  that  a  humanitarian  judgment, 
for  example  that  of  Reclus  or  Pi  y  Margall,  is  not  the  one  professed 
and  is  even  less  the  one  applied  by  the  majority  of  men  of  all  na¬ 
tions,  and  even  by  governments  themselves  in  most  cases.  The 
world  in  general,  then,  cannot  judge  our  history  save  by  the  criteria 
which  dominate  it,  and  which  every  people  applies  to  its  own  and 
not  to  alien  acts.  It  is  hence  necessary  to  judge  those  acts  of  our 
history  alleged  reprehensible  by  the  light  of  dominant  practice  in 
order  to  place  us  upon  an  equality  with  others,  and  to  ascertain 
in  each  case  the  degree  of  responsibility  which  must  be  assumed 
by  government  and  people  in  the  light  of  existing  practice  in  the 
epoch  under  contemplation.  Only  thus  can  we  put  ourselves  on 
a  genuine  basis  whereupon  the  philanthropic  criterion  —  which  has 
its  merits,  though  with  due  historic  reservations  —  raises  yet 
other  questions  which  can  only  be  asked  by  those  who  see  affairs 


52 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


in  their  universal  aspects.  It  will  always  redound  to  our  credit 
that  the  ruling  classes  of  Spain,  in  the  colonization  period,  rejected 
and  even  punished  many  acts  which  the  general  conscience  of  the 
period  held  permissible,  and  which  modern  guiding  minds  some¬ 
times  defend  or  commit  under  the  guise  of  sains  populi,  or  as  we  say 
in  Spain,  “for  reasons  of  state,”  —  which  are  usually  very  flexible 
and  elastic. 

And  yet  to  that  moral  and  judicial  example  which  Spain  during 
those  centuries  gave  to  the  world,  we  may  add  another  spiritual 
and  practical  lesson  which  is  not,  I  believe,  one  of  the  least  of  our 
labors  in  all  parts  to  which  we  carried  our  activities,  chiefly  to 
the  New  World.  The  lesson  I  refer  to,  there  is  perhaps  no  other 
nation  more  apt  to  comprehend  in  all  that  it  signifies  for  life  than 
the  people  of  North  America.  It  springs  from  a  common  fund  of 
moral  qualities,  that  is,  spirit  and  will,  which  both  Spaniards  and 
North  Americans  have  exhibited  at  various  times  when  confront¬ 
ing  similar  needs  of  life.  These  qualities  are  endurance  in  suffer¬ 
ing,  serenity  in  danger,  energy  in  strife,  force  in  struggle,  and  valor 
in  difficulties  which  made  possible  among  you  the  epic  of  the  West 
and  the  Far  West,  and  which  shone  with  such  remarkable  lustre 
among  our  discoverers  and  conquerors.  So,  that  which  was  done 
by  the  builders  of  this  great  republic  upon  the  primitive  shores  of 
the  Atlantic  finds  its  precedent  in  the  work  of  the  Spaniards  of 
the  sixteenth,  seventeenth,  and  eighteenth  centuries,  who,  with 
lesser  material  equipment,  had  to  contribute  more  of  the  personal 
element,  more  of  physical  energy.  So  our  history  in  America,  per¬ 
haps  distinctively  on  Pacific  shores,  will  always  remain  an  inex¬ 
haustible  source  of  those  “  professors  of  energy  ”  from  whom 
modern  decadent  nations,  lacking  confidence  in  their  own  powers, 
seek  regenerative  contacts.  Men  of  such  energies  we  had  our¬ 
selves  in  those  days,  and  to-day  as  well,  without  noise  or  ostenta¬ 
tion,  but  with  positive  efficiency  in  modern  struggles  among  our 
emigrants  to  various  countries,  —  as  have  ever  been  found  in  other 
lands.  Their  example  may  serve  not  only  for  us,  but  for  any 
people  whatsoever,  either  to  ratify  and  amplify  these  qualities, 
or  to  restore  them.  The  having  given  the  example  is  indeed  a 
credit  to  Spanish  colonization. 

This  good  work  had,  at  times,  moments  of  sublimity,  when 


SPAIN  IN  THE  HISTORY  OP  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  53 


energetic  quality  of  soul  was  joined  with  kindness  of  heart  and 
sentiments  of  justice  and  fraternity.  In  such  moments  it  pro¬ 
duced  effects  like  the  colonization  of  California,  realized,  as 
Torres  Campos  writes,  “by  a  handful  of  men  who  knew  how  to 
demonstrate  the  peculiar  aptitude  of  our  people  for  the  work  of 
expansion  and  assimilation  of  the  natives,  which  people  of  superior 
culture  and  lofty  spirit  may  bring  about  by  peaceful  measures 
in  favor  of  savages.” 

Upon  this  beautiful  page  of  our  history  in  the  Pacific,  which  you 
have  learned  to  appreciate  in  such  a  noble  manner,  there  are  names 
which  cannot  be  pronounced  without  great  respect  and  deep  emo¬ 
tion  —  those  of  Junipero  Serra  and  Salvatierra,  whose  letters 
to  Ugarte  are  a  high  example  of  serenity  in  the  presence  of 
death  and  of  manly  persistence  in  the  mission  undertaken,  until 
his  last  moment,  which  in  our  days  can  only  be  compared  with  the 
diary  of  the  celebrated  Captain  Scott. 

Let  me  be  permitted  to  place  under  the  shield  of  these  great 
names  the  completion  of  this  labor.  Through  their  efforts  and 
those  of  others,  the  history  of  the  civilization  of  California  is  inter¬ 
woven  with  that  of  my  native  Spain,  and  both  have,  for  a  long 
period,  a  common  field.  This  warrants  the  thought  that  we  may 
labor  as  companions,  both  Californians  and  Spaniards,  in  many 
ways,  and  perhaps  here  we  may  begin  the  practical  realization 
of  a  project  which  I  first  advocated  in  1909  to  some  Spanish-Ameri- 
can  republics  1  and  which  I  now  find  advocated  by  Professor  Ste¬ 
phens.  This  is  the  establishment  at  the  Archives  of  the  Indies 
of  schools  similar  to  those  which  all  nations  have  created  for  the 
study  of  the  Secret  Archives  of  the  Vatican.  The  idea  has  already 
made  some  progress  in  some  places  in  Spain,  which  are  not  of  least 
influence,  and  certain  preparation  has  been  made  in  the  official 
world.  I  should  indeed  congratulate  myself  if  the  result  of  my 
visit  to  San  Francisco  might  be  the  realization  of  that  which  I 
consider,  equally  with  Professor  Stephens,  as  a  prime  necessity  of 
our  common  investigation,  and  a  bond  of  intellectual  confraternity 
between  our  two  nations. 

And  I  think  that  these  historical  labors  in  search  of  the  truth 

1  The  material  features  of  this  proposal  may  be  seen  in  my  book  Mi  Viaje  d 
America.  Madrid,  1910. 


54 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


of  the  past,  will  not  be  the  only  common  work  to  be  done  in  the 
future  by  the  United  States  and  Spain,  in  order  to  realize  the  ideals 
of  humanity  and  civilization  which,  I  am  sure,  can  only  be  reached 
through  friendly  cooperation  by  all  the  peculiar  qualities  of  spirit 
and  energy  that  the  history  of  each  people  has  produced. 


LA  PARTE  DE  ESPANA  EN  LA  HISTORIA  DEL  OCEANO 

PACIFICO  1 

Rafael  Altamira  y  Crevea 


Considero  inutil  explicar  la  importancia  que  concedo  a  esta 
ocasion,  proporcionada  por  el  Congreso  historico  que  celebramos, 
de  recordar  ante  un  auditorio  tan  competente  y  tan  bien  dispu- 
esto,  las  grandes  lmeas  de  una  parte  considerable  de  la  historia 
colonial  espanola. 

En  todo  momento,  la  evocacion  de  la  obra  util  realizada  en 
lo  pasado  por  el  pueblo  a  que  pertenecemos,  equivale  a  la  legiti¬ 
mation  de  nuestro  derecho  a  ser  y  seguir  siendo  miembros  de  la 
humanidad  en  la  lucha  por  un  estado  cada  vez  mas  civilizado  y 
prospero ;  pero  la  ocasion  presente,  por  muchas  condiciones  de 
que  luego  os  hablare,  aunque  bien  las  comprendeis  por  vosotros 
mismos,  aumenta  de  un  modo  considerable  el  valor  de  esa  evoca¬ 
cion. 

Esta  finalidad  que  deliberadamente  quiero  comunicarle,  no  es 
incompatible  con  el  caracter  cientifico  del  Congreso.  No  se 
puede  negar  a  los  espanoles  el  derecho  de  preocuparse  de  su  his¬ 
toria  en  un  sentido  critico  y  de  orientation  patriotica,  tanto  como 
en  el  humano  de  la  pura  averiguacion  de  la  verdad  por  la  verdad 
misma,  ni  hay  en  este  caso  contradiction  entre  ambas  cosas, 
puesto  que,  al  fin,  lo  que  nosotros  queremos  es  que  el  mundo 
sepa  toda  la  verdad  de  nuestra  historia,  no  una  parte  de  ella  ex- 
agerada  por  prejuicios  desfavorables,  confiados  en  que  el  balance 
final  ha  de  ser  nos  mas  ventajoso  que  eontrario,  como  en  razon  y  a 
priori  puede  pensarse  de  todo  pueblo  por  el  solo  hecho  de  estar 
compuesto  de  hombres  que  llevan  en  su  esplritu,  con  lo  malo  lo 
bueno  tambien  de  la  especie  a  que  pertenecen. 

‘The  Spanish  original  of  the  preceding  address. 

55 


56 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Por  otra  parte,  ese  punto  de  vista  a  que  me  refiero  viene  por 
si  mismo  impuesto  en  la  formulacion  del  tema,  hecha  a  petition 
especial  de  nuestro  Presidente  ;  ya  que  en  un  trabajo  de  con  junto, 
y  forzosamente  breve,  es  imposible  detenerse  en  las  minucias  de 
la  investigacion  nueva,  necesariamente  monografica  y  particular- 
izada.  El  senalamiento  de  las  grandes  llneas  de  un  hecho  com- 
plejo  y  que  abarca  varios  siglos,  se  impone  aqui,  a  modo  de  resumen 
que  para  muchos  de  vosotros  sera  un  simple  recuerdo  de  cosas 
sabidas  y  para  otros  una  condensation  ordenada  de  datos  sueltos 
a  que  el  expositor  anadira  el  aporte  personal  de  sus  reflexiones  de 
historiador. 

No  es  ciertamente  que  en  esto  —  como  todavla  en  lo  mas  de 
nuestra  historia  nacional  —  no  quepan  novedades  y  trabajo  de 
rebusca  erudita ;  por  el  contrario,  todos  sabeis  que  aun  queda 
mucho  por  hacer  en  este  orden.  Aun  en  los  particulares  respecto 
de  los  que  el  inventario  de  los  materiales  disponibles  esta  hecho  6 
muy  adelantado  (y  vosotros,  los  historiadores  americanos,  habeis 
trabajado  en  esto  con  gran  asiduidad  y  resultados  felices),  queda 
por  hacer  el  aprovechamiento  de  aquellos,  ya  que  no  es  lo  mismo 
saber  que  existe  un  documento  y  conocer,  utilizar,  y  divulgar  su 
contenido.  Pero  es  que  aun  en  el  orden  del  conocimiento  de  los 
materiales  mismos,  todos  los  dlas  la  investigacion  de  archivos 
nos  revela  algo  nuevo,  como  no  hace  mucho  he  tenido  la  ocasion 
de  comprobar  en  punto  a  la  historia  legislativa  de  nuestra  colo¬ 
nization,  en  lugares  que  no  son  el  Archivo  de  Indias  pero  goardan 
numerosa  documentation  aun  no  aprovechada,  parte  de  ella  es- 
peci  hnente  referida  a  California.  Pero  repito  que  nada  de  esto 
cabe  hacer  ahora,  para  no  apartarnos  del  caracter  general  de  la 
exposition  que  tengo  el  deber  de  hacer  ante  vosotros. 

Por  de  contado,  la  apelacion  de  Oceano  Pacifico  aplicada  a 
mi  tema,  no  puede  ser  interpretada  estrictamente,  reduciendo 
aquel  a  la  historia  de  las  expediciones  marltimas  de  los  espanoles 
en  esta  parte  del  mundo.  Tambien  pertenecen  al  Pacifico,  en 
recto  sentido  geografico,  todas  aquellas  tierras  del  continente  que 
corresponden  a,  la  vertiente  del  Mar  del  Sur  y  de  el  reciben  condi- 
ciones  de  vida.  Ambos  elementos  son  inseparables.  Hablar, 
pues,  de  la  obra  de  Espana  en  el  Pacifico,  no  es  a  mi  juicio  hablar 
solo  de  Oceania,  sino  tambien  de  America,  de  muchas  regiones 


ESPAftA  EN  LA  HISTORIA  DEL  OCfiANO  PAClFICO  57 


americanas  en  que  pusimos  el  pie  y,  entre  ellas,  de  esta  en  que 
nos  hallamos. 

Convenido  este  punto,  observemos  que  nuestra  historia  en  el 
Pacifico  no  solo  contiene  todo  lo  sustancial  de  nuestra  obra  co- 
lonizadora,  sino,  en  cantidad  y  aun  en  calidad,  lo  mas  de  ella. 
Puede  decirse  que  aqui,  en  estas  regiones  del  Pacifico  es  donde 
el  pueblo  espanol  de  los  siglos  XVI  y  XVII  sobre  todo,  y  tambien 
respecto  de  California,  en  el  XVIII,  aplico  el  maximo  de  sus  ener- 
gfas  y  dio  las  mayores  muestras  de  sus  servicios  a  la  civilizacion 
del  mundo.  Es  curioso  que  asi  haya  sido,  pero  seguramente 
no  casual  y  arbitrario.  Por  algo  nuestra  action  en  el  continente 
americano,  se  produjo  sobre  todo  del  lado  de  este  mar,  es  decir 
en  la  costa  opuesta  a  Europa,  y  no  en  el  Atlantico,  en  la  que  mi- 
raba  a  nosotros ;  y  la  consideration  de  las  causas  —  a  lo  menos, 
las  visibles  para  nosotros  —  de  ese  hecho,  es  ya  un  primer  punta 
digno  de  la  atencion  del  verdadero  historiador  que  no  se  para 
ante  el  pormenor  erudito. 

Por  de  pronto,  inclinaba  a  que  asi  fuese,  la  influencia  del  intento 
inicial  que  produjo  el  descubrimiento  de  America :  el  paso  a  las 
Indias  por  el  (Este.  La  barrera  de  tierras  nuevas  encontradas  en 
el  camino,  por  mucho  que  atrajera  con  sus  riquezas  reales  y  sonadas 
y  con  el  afan  (i  tan  humano  antes  y  ahora !)  de  la  domination,  no 
podia  borrar  el  anhelo  final.  Era  preciso  seguir  hacia  el  (Este, 
completar  el  pensamiento  de  Colon,  llegar  a  las  verdaderas  Indias, 
y  de  alii  los  intentos  para  buscar  el  paso  por  el  N.  O.,  por  el  Centro, 
por  el  Sur,  la  empresa  de  Balboa,  los  proyectos  de  canal,  las 
navagaciones  multiples  de  nuestros  marinos  mas  adelante,  a 
partir  de  Magallanes  y  Elcano. 

La  direction  tomada  por  Colon  en  su  primer  viaje,  nos  arras- 
traba  tambien  a  venir  a  la  vertiente  del  Pacifico.  Algo  mas  al 
Norte,  hubieramos  quiza  sido  los  colonizadores  de  Virginia  y 
Nueva  Inglaterra  a  una  distancia  considerable  del  Pacifico; 
algo  mas  al  Sur,  la  gran  punta  continental  de  las  Guayanas  y  el 
Brasil,  nos  hubiera  empenado  su  labor  de  otro  genero ;  pero 
Colon  vino  a  la  entrada  del  golfo  de  Mejico,  y  por  alii,  derecha- 
mente  al  punto  mas  facilmente  penetrable  para  llegar  al  Pacifico 
y  hacer  de  el  centro  de  nuestra  colonization  y  nuestras  expedi- 
ciones. 


58 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Un  tercer  hecho  nos  fijo  aqui  tambien,  apartandonos  de  las 
regiones  atlanticas  mencionadas,  y  fue  el  del  hallazgo,  en  tierras 
que  el  Pacffico  bana  por  un  lado,  como  Mexico,  y  otras  plena- 
mente  correspond ientes  a  el,  de  civilizaciones  indigenas  adelanta- 
das  que  brindaban  con  solicitaciones  de  riqueza  y  de  dominacion 
gloriosa. 

Y  en  fin,  la  determinacion  principalmente  occidental  de  nuestra 
obra  —  aun  descontando  todo  lo  que  significa  la  accion  maritima 
por  el  mismo  Paclfico  —  se  vio  cumplida  por  la  interposition, 
del  lado  del  Atlantico,  de  actividades  extranas,  que  nos  tomaron 
casi  todo  el  Norte  (Francia  e  Inglaterra  sob  re  todo),  con  todo  el 
Sur  (Portugal)  y  una  gran  parte  de  las  Antillas  que  no  por  ser 
la  de  las  islas  mas  pequenas  dejaba  de  tener  importancia  numerica 
y  comercial  grandisima.  Sabido  es,  en  cuanto  al  Sur,  que 
nuestra  verdadera  colonization  de  las  regiones  del  Plata  (no  las 
expediciones  de  descubrimiento,  que  son  otra  cosa)  corresponde 
a  tiempos  relativamente  ultimos,  y  estuvo  lejos  de  alcanzar 
la  intensidad  y  las  proporciones  de  la  de  Mejico,  Peru,  Chile, 
etc. 

Pero,  desde  que  en  el  siglo  XVIII  vino  a  plantearse  en  el  terreno 
de  la  historiografia,  de  una  manera  doctrinal,  la  cuestion  de  lo 
que  cada  pueblo  habla  significado  hasta  entonces  y  significaba  de 
momento,  en  la  obra  comfin  de  la  civilization  (sin  que  sea  esto 
decir  que  la  pregunta  no  estuviera  tambien  presente  en  la  inteli- 
gencia  de  los  hombres  anteriores  al  XVIII),  lo  que  mas  importa 
a  la  opinion  general,  que  pide  a  la  Historia  conclusiones  y  juicios, 
6  materia  para  ellos,  es  saber  que  ha  hecho  cada  nation  en  cada 
una  de  las  esferas  de  su  actividad  que  pueda  fundar  un  juicio 
favorable  6  adverso  de  su  colaboracion  humana. 

Serfa  extender  mucho  este  travajo  y  salirse  de  los  limites  que 
corresponden  a  su  enunciation,  plantear  ahora  este  problema 
historico  relativamente  a  la  obra  entera  de  Espana  en  America  y 
Oceania.  En  otros  trabajos  mios  he  hablado  de  esto  6  hablare 
pronto  y  a  ellos  me  remito,  siempre  con  la  reserva  en  punto  a 
los  detalles  (a  veces,  de  mucha  importancia,  claro  es)  que  impone 
la  circumstancia  ya  recordaba  de  lo  mucho  que  aun  queda.  por 
publicar  y  divulgar  en  cuanto  a  nuestra  historia.  Las  lineas  ge- 
nerales  si  creo  que  ya  se  dibujan  claramente,  sobre  todo  si  se  tiene 


ESPAftA  EN  LA  HISTORIA  DEL  OCfiANO  PAClFICO  59 


en  cuenta  que  ellas  han  consistido  en  buena  parte  hasta  hoy 
(en  que  ya  se  construye  cientificamente  nuestra  historia),  m&s 
en  la  aplicacion  a  los  hechos  de  criterios  preconcebidos  y  con- 
sideraciones  morales  no  siempre  esgrimidas  con  logica,  que  en 
la  contemplacion  serena  y  la  estimation  equilibrada  de  los  he¬ 
chos  todos  en  su  enlace,  relation  y  contrapeso  natural,  tal  como 
la  realidad  los  muestra. 

Dejo,  pues  a  un  lado  la  consideration  del  movil  de  nuestro 
movimiento  colonizador,  sobre  todo  en  cuanto  al  reducirlo  £  un 
apetito  codicioso  y  egoista  de  lucro,  se  ha  querido  hacer  de  esto 
una  acusacion  contra  Espana,  como  si  solo  los  espanoles  hubiesen 
realizado  empresar  coloniales  por  lucro  y  el  resto  de  los  pueblos 
por  filantropia,  y  como  si  nuestra  civilizacion  actual,  tan  firme- 
mente  establecida  sobre  las  bases  del  provecho  economico  y  del 
desarrollo  de  los  intereses  materiales  a  los  que  tantas  cosas  se 
sacrifican  a  menudo,  pudiese  convertir  en  defecto  y  casi  en  delito, 
la  persecution  de  riquezas,  y  por  tanto,  la  presencia  de  este  movil, 
juntamente  con  otros  tambien  (y  Espana  ofrece  grandes  ejemplos 
de  esto)  en  la  historia  de  un  pais.  Pero  tengase  sobre  esto  la 
opinion  que  se  quiera,  conviene  no  olvidar,  al  hablar  de  ello,  una 
cosa  repetidamente  observada  y  dicha,  pero  que  las  exigencias  de 
la  argumentation  obligan  a  tener  presente  ahora,  y  es  que  con  el 
incentivo  economico  (ya  de  los  simples  buscadores  de  riqueza, 
ya  de  los  verdaderos  comerciantes) ,  el  hombre  lleva  donde  va 
otros  elementos  de  vida.  Un  pensador  espanol,  el  profesor 
Aramburu,  ha  dicho  en  ocasion  memorable,  y  refiriendose  a  la 
Inquisition,  una  frase  en  que  la  brillantez  retorica  no  oculta  un 
fondo  de  aguda  perspicacia  historica :  la  frase  de  que  no  esta  en 
poder  del  hombre  evitar  que  las  hogueras  alumbren,  es  decir, 
que  dan,  a  la  vez  que  fuego  que  quema,  luz  que  ilumina  incluso 
los  caminos  por  donde  el  fuego  llegara  a  ser  apagado ;  y  asf  tam¬ 
bien  podna  decirse  que  aunque  en  ello  no  piense,  el  buscador 
de  oro,  y  el  comerciante  no  pueden  evitar  que  con  ellos  y  con  los 
bultos  de  las  mercaderias  que  acuden  a  satisfacer  necesidades  in- 
dispensables,  vayan  tambien  las  ideas  y  la  civilizacion  del  pueblo  & 
que  pertenecen,  es  decir  cosas  de  muy  otra  esfera  y,  a  veces,  de 
una  gran  elevation  moral. 

Asf  pues,  aunque  los  espanoles  —  todos  y  cada  uno  de  los  que 


60 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


vinieron  a  America  y  al  Pacifico,  y  entre  ellos,  los  Poderes  publicos 
de  la  Espana  de  entonces  —  no  hubieran  tenido  otro  movil  que 
el  de  la  codicia,  hubieran  producido  necesariamente,  tambien, 
hechos  fundamentales  de  civilizacion  en  otros  ordenes,  y  seria 
preciso  contarselos  en  su  haber.  Pero  a  mayor  abundamiento,  es 
bien  sabido  que  Espana  se  propuso  otras  cosas  que  el  mero  pro- 
vecho  economico  en  sus  descubrimientos,  conquistas  y  coloniza- 
ciones,  y  entre  ellas,  la  de  extender  su  religion,  su  cultura,  su 
espiritu,  es  decir,  dar  todo  lo  que  tenia  y  era;  mucho  6  poco, 
acertado  en  todo  6  equivocado  en  parte,  pero  lo  suyo,  lo  que  podia 
aportar  a  la  obra  comun,  creyendolo  de  buena  fe  lo  mejor,  queri- 
endo  que  todos  los  pueblos  participasen  de  ello  y,  en  todo  caso, 
como  a  todo  sujeto  ocurre,  puesto  que  nadie  da  mas  que  lo  que 
tiene,  sin  poder  humano  de  dar  otra  cosa,  y,  por  tanto,  sin  responsa- 
bilidad  de  no  darla. 

Veamos,  pues,  en  breve  resumen,  que  cosas  hizo  Espana  en  su 
accion  general  sobre  las  tierras  continentales  que  bana  el  Pacifico 
y  sobre  este  mismo  mar  y  sus  islas.  Repito  que  he  de  prescindir 
de  detalle,  reposando  en  el  conocimiento  de  ellos  que  tiene  el 
publico  a  quien  me  dirijo  y  que  por  ello  puede  seguir  la  exposition 
general  a  que  me  contraigo  sin  necesidad  de  explicar  cada  hecho 
aludido. 

En  primer  lugar,  consideremos  el  hecho  mismo  de  las  expedi- 
ciones  terrestres  y  maritimas  cuyo  efecto  fue  anadir  en  poco  tiempo 
y  en  cantidad  inmensa,  al  conocimiento  del  planeta,  partes 
considerables  de  el.  En  si  mismo,  ese  efecto  es  ya  un  servicio 
considerable  a  la  civilizacion  y  al  progreso  del  mundo ;  pero  en 
relation  con  la  obra  espanola,  tiene  una  signification  especial 
importantisima,  porque,  como  ha  hecho  muy  bien  observar  Torres 
Campos  en  un  trabajo  relativo  precisamente  a  California  (y  con 
el  Fernandez  Duro  y  otros),  la  extension  de  nuestros  esfuerzos 
en  aquel  sentido,  demuestra  que  no  fue  el  pueblo  espanol  aqui 
solo  un  buscador  de  minas  y  un  conquistador  guerrero,  sino  un 
explorador  geografico  a  quien  se  deben  descubrimientos  numerosisi- 
mos,  superiores  en  este  respecto  a  todos  los  hechos  en  aquellos 
siglos  por  otros  pueblos  en  esta  parte  del  mundo.  La  frecuencia 
actual  de  los  viajes,  y  la  abundancia  de  las  relaciones  que  a  ellos 


ESPAfrA  EN  LA  HISTORIA  DEL  OCfiANO  PAClFICO  61 


se  refieren  y  que  hoy  puede  leer  y  lee  todo  el  mundo,  nos  ha  gastado< 
la  admiracion  respecto  de  estos  hechos  con  que  nos  hemos 
familiarizado.  Solo  cuando  se  produce  un  acto  excepcional  de 
valor,  como  el  de  Scott,  v.  gr.,  paramos  la  atencion  en  ello,  consid- 
erando  que  es  algo  heroico  y  digno  de  enorgullecer  a  los  hombres 
que  lo  realizan  y  al  pueblo  a  que  pertenecieron.  Pero  en  general,, 
hemos  perdido  6  apagado  mucho  la  cualidad  de  apreciar  el  valor 
del  esfuerzo  de  tales  empresas,  mas  dif iciles  y  estimables  a  medida 
que  remontamos  en  la  historia  y  encontramos  hombres  que. 
realizaron  las  mismas  y  aun  mayores  hazanas  que  los  de  hoy,  con- 
menos  medios  y  por  tanto,  con  mayor  derroche  de  energia  personal.; 
Y  si  a  esta  disposition  espiritual  del  hombre  de  hoy  anadiremos  el 
descuido  en  que  hemos  tenido  la  historia  y  recordation  de  nuestros 
viajeros,  asi  como  el  silencio  deliberado  6  el  desconocimiento 
inconsciente  que  respecto  de  ellos  se  ha  advertido  por  lo  general 
durante  mucho  tiempo,  en  los  escritores  extranjeros,  se  com- 
prendera  que  cueste  hoy  trabajo  darse  cuenta  de  lo  que  fueron. 
nuestras  empresas  de  este  genero  en  los  siglos  XVI  y  XVII  y 
que  el  gran  publico,  que  es  quien  forma  la  opinion  colectiva  en' 
punto  a  la  historia,  a  traves  de  lo  que  le  proporcionan  los  es-' 
pecialistas  6  lo  que  encuentra  en  las  leyendas  que  forman  el  saber 
vulgar,  no  pueda  hoy  formarse  una  idea  de  con  junto  de  aquella 
gran  labor  espanola,  por  falta  de  cuadro  en  que  esten  reunidos  y 
condensados  todos  sus  hechos. 

Conviene  ahora  anadir  que  los  viajes  y  descubrimientos  es- 
panoles  no  fueron  frutos  del  bazar,  ni  de  una  desordenada  accion 
individual  (aun  dada  toda  la  parte  respetable  que  corresponde  en 
el  hacer  humano  a  las  iniciativas  individuales),  ni  fortuitas 
consecuencias  de  intentos  desgraciados  que  habfan  tenido  otro 
objeto,  como  con  excusable  error  han  dicho  incluso  autores  muy 
‘  favorables  a  nuestra  historia  colonial.  Fueron  por  el  contrario, 
de  parte  de  los  elementos  directores  de  nuestra  accion  en  Indias: 
y  en  la  misma  orientation  general  de  los  viajeros  mismos  consid- 
erados  en  conjunto,  algo  reflexivo,  sistematico  y  ordenado  con- 
forme  a  una  finalidad  que  se  mantuvo  siempre  atm  por  bajo  de  los! 
objetivos  mas  personales  y  egoistas  de  algunos  descubridores.. 
La  finalidad  era  de  una  parte,  como  ya  dije,  completar  el: 
pensamiento  de  Colon  en  su  intention  inicial  de  llegar  a  las  Indias. 


62 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Orientales,  establecer  relation  directa  de  ellas  con  Espana  y 
aprovechar  sus  producciones  para  nuestro  comercio;  de  otra, 
conocer  bien,  en  todos  los  aspectos  que  pudieran  interesar  (no 
solamente  en  el  politico  y  en  el  estrictamente  economico)  las 
nuevas  tierras  que  se  habian  encontrado,  reuniendo  y  centralizando 
los  informes  que  iban  recogiendo  los  exploradores. 

Lo  primero  no  se  cumplio  totalmente,  porque  los  portugueses, 
llegando  por  el  Este,  habian  cerrado  ya  el  camino,  sin  que  cupiese 
a  Espana,  no  obstante  largas  negociaciones  de  todos  sabidas 
mas  que  aprovechar  una  parte  pequena  de  las  tierras  oceanicas 
proximas  al  Asia.  La  corriente  comercial  que  de  aqm  previno, 
en  lugar  de  orientarse  respecto  a  Espana,  de  E.  a  O.,  por  la  misma 
ruta  portuguesa,  se  oriento  de  O.  a  E.,  desde  China,  Japon  y 
Filipinas  hacia  America  y  de  aquf  a  Espana,  a  traves  del  Parffico, 
estableciendose  asi  la  primera  ruta  comercial  de  este  mar  por 
obra  espanola.  El  dia  en  que  se  conozca  bien  la  historia  de  esa 
ruta  y  de  su  movimiento  mercantil,  en  su  corriente  principal  de 
la  nao  de  Acapulco  (y  es  de  esperar  que  el  anunciado  trabajo  de 
Mr.  Schurz  adelante  bastante  en  la  materia,  respecto  de  la  cual 
hay  todavia  mucho  inedito  que  ver)  y  en  los  demas  elementos  que 
las  formaron,  se  vera  la  importancia  que  tuvo,  en  sf  y  como  pre- 
cedente  de  desarrollos  mas  modernos  y  se  advertira  como  muchas 
empresas  espanolas  en  Oceania  aparentemente  sueltas  y  sin  nexo, 
estaban  interiormente  unidas  por  el  interes  de  servir  a  aquella 
finalidad  mercantil,  buscando  su  linea  mejor  y  asegurandola  lo 
mas  posible.  Otras  empresas  se  agrupan  por  finalidades  indepen- 
dientes  de  aquella  y  derivadas  ya  de  las  consecuencias  que  cada 
descubrimiento  trae  consigo,  planteando  nuevas  cuestiones  geo- 
graficas  cosmograficas,  ya  del  afan  general,  muy  vivo  entonces, 
en  el  esplritu  de  nuestros  pilotos,  capitanes,  y  aventureros,  de 
descubrir  por  la  satisfaction  del  descubrimiento  mismo  6  por  el 
provecho  de  la  conquista  y  la  utilidad  economica.  Un  tercer 
grupo,  en  fin,  es  el  motivado  por  la  necesidad  de  conocer  las  costas 
del  nuevo  mar,  primero,  a  partir  del  istmo  y  de  Nueva  Espana, 
hacia  el  Norte  y  hacia  el  Sur  (con  nuevos  incentivos,  a  veces, 
como  el  que  produjo  los  varios  viajes  de  Pizarro  y  sus  companeros) ; 
luego,  tambien  desde  Peru  y  Chile  hacia  el  Sur,  para  enlazar 
con  el  descubrimiento  de  Magallanes,  aparte  lo  que  empujo  en 


ESPANA  EN  LA  HISTORIA  DEL  OCEANO  PAClFICO  63 


varios  sentidos  el  afan  de  buscar  el  paso  maritimo  entre  los  dos 
mares. 

Dos  momentos  capitales  hay  en  esta  larga  historia  de  des- 
cubrimientos  y  los  dos  corresponden  a  espanoles;  el  inicial  de 
Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  cuya  importancia  capitalfsima  reconoce 
el  mundo  entero,  cuyo  valor  epico  ya  fue  cantado  por  un  escritor 
norte-americano,  Washington  Irving,  y  a  cuya  historia  acaba  de 
anadir  numerosa  documentacion  un  autor  espanol,  Altolaguirre,1 
y  el  de  Magallanes,  hecho  con  dinero,  barcos,  y  hombres  espanoles, 
y  origen  de  la  primera  circumnavegacion  a  que  va  unido  el  nombre 
de  nuestro  Elcano.  Pero  el  dfa  que  a  estos  tres  nombres  gloriosos 
que  todo  el  mundo  conoce,  y  algunos  pocos  mas  que  gozan  de  esa 
condicion,  se  unan  en  la  familiaridad  del  conocimiento  popular 
todos  los  que  concurrieron  con  su  esfuerzo  y  con  sus  exitos  may- 
ores  6  menores  a  la  obra  secular  del  descubrimiento  del  inmenso 
Pacifico  y  las  mas  de  sus  tierras,  al  E.  al  O.  y  en  el  grandioso 
ambito  de  sus  aguas,  se  reconocera  por  todos  lo  que  ahora  solo 
saben  algunos  especialistas  y  es  que  no  solo  la  investigacion  de 
las  costas  americanas  del  QEste,  con  muy  corta  exception  en  el 
extremo  Norte,  fue  puramente  espanola,  sino  que  tambien  lo 
fue  la  de  una  gran  parte  de  las  islas  del  Pacifico  a  cuyo  descubri¬ 
miento  se  lanzaron  con  tanto  teson  y  arrojo  nuestros  navegantes, 
sin  recelo  de  los  peligros,  que  como  ha  hecho  observar  un  autor, 
mas  del  80  por  ciento  de  ellos  perecieron  en  aquellos  arriesgados 
viajes,  sin  que  en  dos  siglos  cesase  la  corriente  de  ellos  y  dejando, 
a  pesar  del  infortunio  de  muchas  expediciones,  un  rastro  glorioso 
de  hallazgos  y  de  estudios. 

Renuncio  a  dar  aquf  una  lista  de  nombres  que  pudiera  parecer 
alarde  de  erudition,  inutil,  ademas,  si  se  limita  a  esto  (y  para  otra 
cosa  no  hay  espacio) ;  pero  si  quiero  decir  que,  una  vez  mas, 
ocurre  en  esto  que  ni  estan  publicados  todos  los  datos  que  ha 
llegado  a  nosotros,  ni  reunidos  en  un  conjunto,  los  que  ya  se  saben, 
no  obstante  las  valiosas  aportaciones  de  Jimenez  de  la  Espada, 
Zaragoza,  Ferreiro,  Coello,  Duro,  Beltran  y  algun  otro  entre 
los  espanoles,  y  Collingridge,  Morgan,  y  pocos  mas  entre  los 
extranjeros  que  con  animo  simpatico  a  Espana  han  emprendido 


1  Vasco  Nufiez  de  Balboa ,  por  Angel  de  Altolaguirre  y  Duvale.  (Madrid,  1914.) 


64 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


investigaciones  de  este  orden.  Cuando  esa  labor  que  ahora  falta 
este  hecha,  se  vera  no  solo  lo  mucho  que  al  esfuerzo  espanol  debe 
el  conocimiento  del  mar  Pacifico  y  sus  aledanos,  sacando  a  luz 
y  poniendo  de  relieve  nombres  hoy  obscuros  6  de  poca  resonancia, 
sino  tambien  cuan  llena  de  episodios  dramaticos  6  de  alta  curi- 
osidad  se  halla  esa  historia  de  las  navegaciones  espanolas  en  la 
que,  para  que  nada  falte,  hasta  hay  mugeres  capitanas  de  expedi- 
ciones,  como  en  el  Peru  hubo  virreinas  con  mando  efectivo  en 
interregnos  en  que  nuestras  ideas  y  costumbres  no  repugnaban  el 
feminismo  mas.  Tambien  se  advertira  entonces  cuan  equivocada 
es  la  afirmacion  sostenida  por  algunos,  de  que  los  espanoles  no 
eran  propiamente  navegantes,  porque  todos  los  pilotos  de  sus 
expediciones  eran  extranjeros,  revelandose  la  existencia  y  el  papel 
principal  de  muchos  nacidos  en  Espana  donde  el  desarrollo  y 
precision  adquiridos  entonces  por  los  estudios  cosmograficos, 
traducidos  y  copiados  en  otros  paises  de  Europa,  y  por  los 
cartograficos,  habian  creado  un  medio  propicio  a  la  formacion  de 
buenos  marinos. 

En  cuanto  a  la  otra  finalidad  antes  senalada,  a  saber,  la  de 
determinar  lo  mas  exactamente  posible  el  conocimiento,  en  todos 
ordenes,  de  las  nuevas  tierras  descubiertas,  bastara  recordar, 
para  que  se  vea  como  a  ello  presidio  una  clara  conciencia  de  lo 
que  se  deseaba  y  un  saber  profundo  de  la  complejidad  del  intento, 
de  una  parte,  aquel  plan  de  las  relaciones  de  Indias  tan  sabia- 
mente  madurado  y  que  dio  a  conocer  de  tan  brillante  modo  nuestro 
Jimenez  de  la  Espada  en  su  conocida  coleccion  de  aquellos  docu- 
mentos  (continuada  despues  en  otras  varias  publicaciones) ;  de 
otra,  la  formacion  del  padron  de  Indias  con  ellas  estrechamente 
relacionado,  y,  en  fin,  la  preparacion  sistematica  de  expediciones 
puramente  cientificas  como  la  bien  sabida  del  Dr.  Hernandez  en 
tiempo  de  Felipe  II.  E  importa  advertir  que  esta  expedition  y 
alguna  otra  de  aquellos  siglos,  no  fueron  iniciativas  esporadicas 
y  como  perdidas,  sino  eslabones,  mas  6  menos  valiosos,  de  una 
larga  cadena,  variadamente  intensa  segun  las  circunstancias, 
pero  propiamente  ininterrumpida  y  cuyos  ultimos  episodios  estan 
senalados,  en  el  siglo  XVIII,  por  las  numerosas  expediciones  de 
naturalistas  espanoles  de  todos  conocidas  (aparte  las  de  Jorge 


ESPANA  EN  LA  HISTORIA  DEL  OCEANO  PAClFICO  65 


Juan  y  Ulloa)  y  en  el  mismo  siglo  XIX,  como  termino  de  ellas, 
por  la  llamada  del  Pacifico  (1862-66)  en  que  comenzo  a  tejerse 
la  legitima  fama  del  Jimenez  de  la  Espada.  Y  aun  cabria  agrupar 
en  alguna  medida  a  todos  estos  viajes,  los  de  Bonpland  y  Hum¬ 
boldt,  pues  si  es  cierto  que  los  realizaron  hombres  de  otras  naciones, 
no  lo  es  menos  que  en  ellos  se  vieron  amplimente  asistidos  y 
ayudados  por  el  gobierno  espanol. 

Con  todo  esto,  no  es  estrano  que  poco  despues  de  iniciados 
los  descubrimientos,  se  pudiesen  escribir,  no  solo  libros  como 
el  breve  pero  interesante  de  Enciso,  sino  amplios  y  nutridos  de 
noticias  como  la  Geografia  y  descripcidn  universal  de  las  Indias, 
recopilada  por  el  cosmografo  Juan  Lopez  de  Velasco,1  treinta  aims 
antes  de  finalizar  el  siglo  XVI  y  en  parte  derivada  de  los  trabajos 
emprendidos  en  el  Consejo  de  Indias  para  formar  las  Relaciones 
antes  citadas.  En  ella  hay  ya  muchas  noticias  de  las  islas  oceanicas 
(islas  de  Poniente),  en  especial  las  Molucas,  de  Pilipinas,  de 
Nueva  Guinea,  Salomon,  Ladrones  y  las  costas  de  China,  Japon 
y  Lequios.  Del  mismo  modo,  a  la  luz  de  toda  esa  preparacion 
cientifica  y  sobre  la  base  de  los  innumerables  materiales  que  iban 
aportando  los  viajeros  y  los  misioneros,  se  comprende  de  una 
manera  razonada  la  existencia  del  rico  caudal  de  noticias  de  todo 
genero  (desde  las  naturalistas  a  las  que  hoy  diriamos  sociologicas), 
que  se  encuentra  en  nuestros  cronistas  de  Indias  ;  en  unos  porque 
aprovechan  aquel  material,  en  otros  porque  estaban  preparados 
por  el  ambiente  de  la  epoca  a  ver  la  realidad  del  mundo  nuevo  con 
una  amplitud  y  complejidad  de  programa  a  que  no  les  hubiera 
llevado  nunca  la  pura  tradicion  erudita  de  la  historiografia  domi- 
nante  en  el  Viejo  Mundo. 

Y  en  fin,  cuando  la  historia  de  todos  estos  hechos  pueda  ser 
totalmente  escrita  y  trascienda  en  divulgaciones  bien  orientadas 
al  gran  publico,  quedara  totalmente  determinada  la  precedencia, 
que  en  muchos  descubrimientos  luego  repetidos  por  extranjeros, 
corresponde  a  los  espanoles,  aparte  los  que  son  exclusivos  suyos 
y  nadie  les  disputa. 

Pero  no  quiero  ni  podria  abandonar  este  orden  de  cosas  sin 
hacer  parrafo  aparte  de  un  asunto  cuya  importancia  propia  ha 

1  La  Geografia  y  Descripcidn  Universal  de  las  Indias,  por  Juan  L6pez  de  Velasco.  Se 
publicd  por  primera  vez  en  1894,  con  adiciones  6  ilustraciones  de  D.  Justo  Zaragoza. 


66 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


recibido  en  este  mismo  ano  un  elevado  suplemento  de  interes 
circunstancial.  Me  refiero  al  canal  de  Panama.  Aqui  menos 
qne  en  ninguna  parte  del  mundo,  necesito  realizar  el  valor  que 
para  la  historia  humana  tiene  el  hecho  de  la  apertura  del  canal ; 
pero  no  es  para  dedicarle  ditirambos  para  lo  que  yo  lo  traigo  aqui 
a  colacion,  sino  para  precisar  la  parte  que  en  sus  antecedentes 
corresponde  a  los  espanoles. 

Tambien  es  este  asunto  en  el  cual  hace  falta  un  estudio  defi¬ 
nitive.  El  que  recientemente  le  ha  dedicado  el  erudito  espanol 
Sr.  Manjarres,1  aunque  anade  muchas  noticias  a  las  ya  conocidas 
y  repetidas  incluso  en  manuales  de  historia,  no  agota  las  que 
podrian  aducirse.  Veinte-un  proyectos  cita  Manjarres  (espanoles 
todos  con  excepcion  de  uno,  el  de  M.  de  Fer  de  la  Nouerre)  en  su 
trabajo,  desde  la  idea  inicial  de  Hernan  Cortes  referida  al  istmo 
de  Tehuantepec,  hasta  el  del  diputado  de  las  Cortes  de  Cadiz,  D. 
Jose  A.  Lopez  de  la  Plata ;  pero  aun  hubiera  podido  anadir,  entre 
los  conocidos,  el  de  Galve  (siglo  XVI),  el  del  Consulado  de  Co- 
mercio  y  Navegacion  (comunicacion  por  Patagones),  y  aun  el  de 
La  Bastide  (aunque  no  es  espanol  por  su  autor)  presentado  a 
Carlos  IV.  Sea  cualquiera  el  inmenso  total  de  los  que  al  fin 
se  averiguen,  dos  cosas  resultan  claros  y  enlazan  eternamente  el 
nombre  de  Espana  a  la  gran  obra  moderna,  como  enlazado  va 
en  la  persona  de  Balboa  al  del  descubrimiento  de  uno  de  los  mares 
ahora  unidos ;  la  una,  que  Espana  penso  siempre,  desde  los  prime- 
ros  tiempos,  en  abrir  una  via  de  agua  artificial  (puesto  que  natural 
no  la  habfa  sino  en  los  extremos  del  continente)  entre  el  Pacffico 
v  el  Atlantico,  y  que  en  la  concepcion  de  la  idea  de  esta  obra,  tanto 
como  en  la  determ inacion  de  -proyectos  para  realizarla  y  de  explo- 
raciones  y  trabajos  que  la  preparasen,  a  ella  corresponde  la  pri- 
macia.  Cuando  Champlain  tuvo  la  idea  del  canal,  en  1600,  haefa 
anos  que  gentes  espanolas  habfan,  no  solo  tenido  esa  misma  idea, 
sobre  la  base  de  la  necesidad  de  semejante  via  y  del  conocimiento 
directo  de  las  tierras  en  que  era  posible,  sino  que  habian  deter- 
minado  varies  proyectos  en  relacion  con  trayectorias  diferentes 
aprovechables  (Tehuantepec,  Nicaragua,  y  Panama).  Espana 
no  hizo  al  fin  el  canal,  por  concurrencia  de  diversas  causas,  entre 

1  Proyectos  Espafloles  de  Canal  Interocednica,  por  Ram6n  de  Manjarres.  (Rev. 
de  Arch.,  Bib.  y  Mus.  Enero  &  Abril  1914. 


ESPAftA  EN  LA  HISTORIA  DEL  OCfiANO  PAClFICO  67 


las  que  en  el  siglo  XVIII  especialmente  parece  haber  tenido  valor 
la  de  los  recelos  de  que  la  nueva  via  fuese  motivo  de  complicaciones 
internacionales ;  pero  ni  ceso  de  pensar  en  el  durante  tres  siglos, 
ni,  como  Humboldt  mismo  reconoce,  prohibio  nunca  que  se  hablase 
y  escribiese  acerca  de  la  ruptura  del  istmo. 

Toda  esta  enorme  cantidad  de  esfuerzos  dirigidos  al  estudio 
y  aprovechamiento  de  las  nuevas  tierras  y  los  nuevos  mares, 
produjo,  aparte  los  descubrimientos  mismos  y  el  planteamiento 
de  los  problemas  de  todo  genero  que  sugenan  a  la  mentalidad 
las  necesidades  de  entonces,  una  serie  de  consecuencias  derivadas, 
pero  no  menos  importantes,  que  tambien  hay  que  incluir  en  el 
cuadro  de  la  obra  espanola  en  las  regiones  del  Pacifieo.  Estas 
consecuencias  fueron,  sucintamente  dichas,  el  conocimiento  de  la 
geografia  y  geologia  (hasta  donde  esta  esfera  del  conocer,  sin 
nombre  ni  campo  propio  entonces,  cabia  en  las  observaciones  de 
los  exploradores) ,  de  la  botanica,  la  zoologia  y  la  mineralogia 
(esta,  con  todas  las  aplicaciones  que  la  mineria  exigfa  y  en  que 
los  espanoles  realizaron  progresos  y  novedades  considerables, 
mediante  la  introduccion  de  metodos  metalurgicos  algunos  de  los 
que  aun  se  emplean),  de  los  idiomas  indigenas  (en  que  los  estudios 
de  nuestros  misioneros  son  capitales,  como  es  sabido,  y  en  numero 
verdaderamente  extraordinario)  y  de  las  costumbres,  organization 
social,  tradiciones  e  historia  de  los  amerindos,  que  interesaron 
vivamente  a  los  espanoles  incluso  en  los  particulares  religiosos 
que  mas  se  apartaban  de  la  ortodoxia  espanola,  hasta  el  punto  de 
formar  la  agrupacion  de  sus  trabajos  en  este  orden,  la  fuente 
mas  amplia  y  segura  para  las  investigaciones  modernas.  Si  a 
toda  esta  inmensa  labor  se  une  el  servicio  que  representa  la 
introduccion  deliberada  en  America  de  especies  vegetales  (unas 
170)  y  animales  aqui  desconocidas  y  algunas  de  las  cuales  se 
convirtieron  despues  en  autonomaticainente  americanas  y  el 
traspaso  a  Europa  de  arboles  y  plantas  como  la  patata,  el  tomate, 
el  maiz,  la  pita,  el  aguacate,  la  batata,  el  freson  de  Chile  y  fresa  de 
Virginia,  etc.  se  tendra  el  cuadro  completo  de  la  obra  fitil, 
civilizadora,  tanto  en  el  orden  material  como  en  el  espiritual, 
que  realizaron  los  espanoles  en  su  contacto  con  las  nuevas  tierras 
descubiertas  del  lado  del  Atlantico  y  del  Pacifico. 

Ese  cuadro  signifies,  de  hecho,  la  primera  implantation  en 


6S 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


America  y  en  parte  de  las  islas  oceanicas,  de  la  civilization  europea. 
Antes  de  Espana,  lo  que  en  America  se  encuentra  es  prehistoria, 
no  obstante  el  adelanto  material  y  artistico  que  algunas 
civilizaciones  ofrecen,  sin  haber  roto,  en  lo  fundamental,  el  limite 
propio  de  lo  primitivo.  Con  Espana,  America  se  incorpora  al 
movimiento  occidental  que  ha  venido  a  ser  el  molde  civilizador 
por  antonomasia,  de  la  mayor  parte  del  mundo  y  asi  ella  fue  la 
primera  maestra  en  el  orden  del  tiempo  de  la  vida  ciudadana,  de 
la  vida  cristiana  y  de  la  cultura  clasica  reelaborada  sobre  el  fondo 
de  la  original  formation  europea  de  la  Edad  Media. 

Y  conviene  decir  que  la  importancia  de  la  obra  espanola  en 
America  no  esta  solo  en  la  cantidad  de  los  trabajos  que  la  forman, 
sino  tambien  en  la  calidad  de  muchos  de  ellos.  La  larga  lista  de 
nombres  que  pueden  senalarse  —  Oviedo,  Acosta,  Hernandez, 
Ximenez,  Gomez  Ortega,  Sahagun,  Herrera,  Lozano,  Carmona, 
Mutis,  Ruiz,  Pavon,  Azara,  Sesse,  Mocino,  Ulloa,  Jorge  Juan, 
Pineda,  Malaspina,  Medina,  Saavedra,  Barba,  Fernandez  de 
Velasco,  Contreras,  Acuna,  Ovalle,  Lopez  Medel,  Elhuyar,  y 
tantos  otros  que  cabria  citar,  —  esta  avalorada  por  el  juicio  que 
la  labor  realizada  ha  merecido  en  tiempos  modernos  a  especial- 
istas  no  sospechosos  de  patrioterfa  espanola,  como  Humboldt, 
Linneo,  Lyell,  Hoefer,  Sonneschmidt  y  muchos  mas.  De  una 
obra  de  acarreo  y  casualidad,  fruto  de  una  curiosidad  Mtil  y  sin 
direction  cientifica  no  cabria  decir,  como  de  la  espanola  de  estos 
generos  a  que  me  refiero  ahora  se  ha  dicho,  que  “  ninguna  nation 
ha  hecho  mas  sacrificios  en  pro  de  los  adelantos  de  la  Botanica  ” ; 
que  en  Oviedo  y  Acosta  se  halla  “  el  fundamento  de  lo  que  hoy 
llamamos  fisica  del  globo  ” ;  que  “  desde  la  fundacion  de  las 
sociedades,  en  ninguna  otra  epoca  (como  en  la  de  nuestros  des- 
cubrimientos)  sehabia  ensanchado  repetidamente,  y  de  un  modo  tan 
maravilloso,  el  tirculo  de  ideas  en  lo  que  toca  al  mundo  externo  y  a 
las  relaciones  con  el  espacio”  ;  que  “las  descripciones  espanolas  de 
los  paises  americanos  se  distinguen  por  su  precision”  (juicio  de 
Lyell),  etc.  Podemos,  pues,  estar  seguros  de  haber  aportado  a 
la  obra  de  la  ciencia  humana  un  caudal  que  nos  autoriza  a  pedir 
ritulo  de  colaboradores  distinguidos. 

Hay  ciertamente,  al  lado  de  estos  puntos  que  ya  van  siendo 


ESPAftA  EN  LA  HISTORIA  DEL  OCfiANO  PACiFICO  69 


reconocidos  por  la  opinion  general,  otros  de  nuestra  accion  en 
las  colonias  todas  —  y  por  tanto  en  las  regiones  a  que  se  refiere 
este  trabajo,  —  respecto  de  los  cuales  venimos  ovendo  hace  siglos 
censuras  terribles.  Ante  todo,  conviene  decir  con  franqueza  que 
aun  en  el  caso  de  que  fueran  verdad  todas  las  acusaciones  que  se 
han  hecho  contra  Espana,  singularmente  en  cuanto  al  trato  de  los 
indigenas,  ellas  no  invalidanan  la  importancia  de  ninguno  de  los 
servicios  a  la  civilization  antes  enumerados.  Para  que  el  juicio 
de  un  hombre  6  de  un  pais  sea  justo,  hay  que  computarles  todo  lo 
que  hicieron,  lo  bueno  y  lo  malo.  Pretender  que  por  existir  esto 
ultimo  se  debe  borrar  todo  lo  otro,  es  una  injusticia  y,  ademas, 
una  irrealidad.  Todo  hecho  queda  indelible  en  la  historia,  sea 
como  fuere ;  podra  la  negligencia  6  la  malicia  de  los  hombres  ob- 
scurecerlo  por  algun  tiempo,  pero  no  por  eso  desaparece  del  haber 
6  el  deber  de  su  autor,  sobre  cuya  responsabilidad  6  vanagloria  pe- 
sar£  eternamente,  con  propio  valor  que  nada  puede  contrarrestar. 

Queda,  pues,  en  pie,  todo  lo  consignado  anteriormente,  y  ven- 
gamos  a  examinar  esta  otra  parte  espiritual  a  que  ahora  nos 
referimos. 

Despues  de  mucho  discutir,  una  parte  considerable  a  la  opinion 
ha  venido  a  fijarse  en  esta  formula  intermedia :  Espana  concibio 
y  escribio  la  mas  humana  y  elevada  legislation  de  la  historia  re- 
lativemente  a  los  pueblos  inferiores,  pero  esa  legislacion  (asi  como 
la  de  gobierno,  que  interesaba  tambien  a  los  mismos  espanoles) 
fue  letra  muerta,  a  pesar  de  la  existencia  y  la  propaganda  de 
numerosos  defensores  del  derecho  humano,  no  solo  con  respecto  a 
los  Indios,  sino  tambien  con  respecto  a  los  negros,  dado  que  los 
primeros  abolicionistas  conocidos  son  espanoles. 

No  creo  que  esa  formula  expresa  la  realidad  de  las  cosas  ocu- 
ridas.  Notese  que  si  se  acepta  como  buena,  equivale  a  reconocer 
que,  salvo  una  exigua  minorfa  de  hombres  ilustrados  y  generosos 
(los  que  en  el  gobierno  del  pais  concibieron  y  redactaron  aquellas 
leyes,  desde  la  misma  reina  Ysabel,  y  los  que  en  la  catedra,  en 
el  libro  y  en  la  predicacion  defendieron  la  libertad  y  la  dignidad 
de  los  indigenas  y  de  los  africanos),  la  masa  de  los  espanoles 
fue  tan  cruel  e  indisciplinada  6  estaba  de  tal  modo  imbuida 
en  las  ideas  generales  de  desprecio  y  explotacion  del  inferior 
que  predominaban  entonces  en  Europa  (y  bien  las  aplicaron 


70 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


todos  los  demas  pueblos  colonizadores),  que  ni  cumplieron  aquellas 
leyes,  ni  perdieron  una  sola  ocasion  de  sacrificar  a  su  egoismo  yasu 
ferocidad  todas  las  gentes  con  quienes  se  rozaban.  Algo  es,  sin 
duda,  el  reconocimiento  de  aquella  minoria,  tan  espanola  como 
la  supuesta  mayoria  de  contrarios  sentimientos  e  ideas ;  pero  repito 
que  no  es,  a  mi  juicio,  toda  la  verdad. 

Notad  que  digo  la  verdad.  No  me  coloco  pues  en  un  punto  de 
vista  patriotico,  que  procura  negar  sentimentalmente  lo  que  aparece 
desfavorable  a  su  patria,  sino  en  un  punto  de  vista  cientifico, 
diciendo  que  aquella  formula  (que  ya  es  absurda  a  priori,  puesto 
que  divide  radicalmente  las  dos  esferas,  la  de  la  idea  y  la  de  la 
vida  practica,  como  si  perteneciesen  a  mundos  distintos)  no 
expresa  la  verdad  de  lo  ocurrido.  Ya  se  acepta  por  muchos 
tratadistas  norte-americanos,  en  materia  de  nuestro  sistema  co¬ 
lonial,  que  “  muchos  de  sus  errores  y  maleficios  existieron  £  causa 
de  la  incompetencia  y  venalidad  de  los  funcionarios  subalternos  ” 
y  no  de  la  mala  organization  6  la  intension  danada  de  los  gover- 
nantes  metropolitanos  6  de  los  virreyes  y  funcionarios  superiores ; 
lo  cual,  si  en  terminos  generates  puede  ser  verdad  (caso  aparte  de 
excepciones  en  esos  mismos  funcionarios  superiores,  que  no  fueron 
todos  impecables,  y  bastarfa  citar  algunos  nombres  de  Nueva 
Espana,  Tierra  Firme,  Peru,  etc.),  no  hace  mas  que  trasladar, 
como  en  el  caso  anterior,  la  responsabilidad  y  la  maldad,  a  los  de 
abajo,  que  son  tambien  los  mas,  confundiendo  pues,  en  un  solo 
juicio  de  “venalidad  e  incompetencia,”  a  todos  los  funcionarios 
subalternos. 

Ahora  bien,  es  indudable  que  en  esto  hay  un  error  y  una  in- 
justicia.  No  es  exacto  historicamente  que  en  la  colonization 
espanola  haya  habido  dos  mundos  distintos  ;  uno  superior,  dotado 
de  las  mas  grandes  y  humanas  ideas  e  intensiones,  y  otro  inferior 
pero  mucho  mas  extenso  para  quien  eran  aquellas  letra  muerta. 
La  verdad  real  fue  que  en  ambos  hubo  gentes  humanitarias, 
honorables  y  justas  que  supieron  ser  fieles  al  sentido  de  nuestra 
legislation  (que  por  algo  es  nuestra,  es  decir,  por  algo  salio  de 
nuestro  espiritu  y  no  del  de  otro  pueblo),  como  en  ambos  las 
hubo  de  contraria  condition.  Al  lado  de  los  legisladores,  de 
los  apostoles  como  Las  Casas,  de  los  cientificos  como  Vitoria, 
hubo  una  legion  de  personas,  de  las  que  inmediatamente  estaban 


ESPANA  en  la  historia  del  ocEano  PAClFICO  71 


en  contacto  con  los  indigenas  y  tenfan  pues  que  practicar  sus 
ideas  —  misioneros,  conquistadores,  encomenderos,  mineros,  coloni- 
zadores,  de  diversas  layas,  —  que  no  realizaron  crueldades,  ni 
siquiera  aquellos  abusos  y  explotaciones  que  todavfa  hoy  consideran 
lfcitas  6  explicables  los  pueblos  mas  adelantados  del  mundo,  con 
respecto  al  inferior  economica  6  antropologicamente.  La  cuestion 
historica  en  este  punto  se  halla  pues  en  precisar  que  numero  de 
abusos  hubo  realmente,  y  en  que  proporcion  se  hallaron  con  los 
casos  de  humanidad  y  fiel  aplicacion  de  las  leyes  en  punto  a  los 
indigenas,  asf  como  los  que  en  el  orden  del  gobierno  senalaron  — 
al  lado  de  los  irregularidades  —  una  administracion  dentro  de  su 
propio  concepto,  no  impecable,  sin  duda,  pero  adjustada  a  los 
moldes  corrientes  que  la  humanidad  usaba  entonces  en  todas 
partes. 

Esta  labor,  propia  del  historiografo  investigador  y  que  len- 
tamente  se  ira  completando  a  medida  que  conozcamos  mas  y  mas 
pormenores  de  hechos  y  que  depuremos  la  exactitud  de  todos  los 
aducidos  en  contrario  hasta  hoy,  asf  como  el  valor  de  las  dec- 
lamaciones  generales  e  imprecisas,  tan  naturales  en  los  que  pre¬ 
dican  una  doctrina  6  se  quejan  de  algo  que  les  parece  mal  y  cuya 
pintura  necesitan  acentuar  para  que  la  atencion  de  las  gentes  se 
fije  en  ellas,  —  esta  labor,  digo,  nos  dara  la  medida  exacta  —  6 
con  la  mayor  aproximacion  posible  —  de  la  proporcion  en  que 
estuvieron  las  practicas  buenas  y  las  malas.  Pero  por  muy 
numerosas  que  estas  hayan  sido,  no  podran  nunca  invalidar  la 
realidad  y  el  merito :  1°,  de  nuestras  leyes  de  Indias ;  2°,  de  la 
nutrida  serie  de  nuestros  escritores  humanitarios  y  de  nuestros 
juristas  de  alto  sentido  del  derecho ;  3°,  de  la  larga  serie  de  hom- 
bres  benevelos,  caritativos,  humanos  en  el  trato  con  los  inferiores 
y  celosos  cumplidores  de  su  deber  profesional  que  incuestionable- 
mente  ofrece  nuestra  historia.  Bastarfa  presentar  —  y  solo  es 
una  parte  de  ese  grupo  —  la  lista  de  nuestros  misioneros  verdadera- 
mente  cristianos  en  su  proceder,  para  que  el  haber  de  Espana  en 
este  respecto  contase  con  una  partida  considerable ;  y  no  es  Cali¬ 
fornia  la  region  de  America  donde  con  menos  justicia  y  verdad 
puede  invocarse  este  recuerdo. 

Quedaria,  por  ultimo,  en  esta  materia  algo  muy  importante 
que  hacer  para  llegar  a  una  justa  apreciacion  de  las  cosas :  y  es 


72 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


la  aplicacion  a  los  hechos  de  abuso  comprobado  (en  paz  y  en  guerra  ; 
por  motivos  de  conquista  6  de  relacion  economica),  de  los  criterios 
de  juieio  moral  y  juridico  que  la  humanidad  de  entonces  y  la  de 
hoy,  en  su  inmensa  rnayona,  aplica  a  hechos  no  espaholes  de  la 
misma  naturaleza.  En  materia  de  danos  al  projimo  no  hay 
mas  que  dos  posiciones :  la  filantropica,  que  necesariamente  ha 
de  ser  pacifista  y  de  cuya  aplicacion  saldnan  mal  parados  todos 
los  pueblos  de  la  historia,  y  la  que  podriamos  llamar  realista,  que 
aprecia  lo  que  es  inevitable  en  las  relaciones  humanas  tal  como 
se  han  llevado  hasta  aqui,  6  escusa  lo  que  todos  hicieron  y  siguen 
haciendo.  Si  se  adopta  el  primero  sinceramente,  claro  es  que 
resultaran  condenados  muclios  hechos  de  nuestra  conquista  y 
colonizacion,  pero  con  igual  motivos  los  iguales  —  quiza  peores 
a  veces,  en  su  genero  —  de  las  demas  naciones  conquistadoras  y 
colonizadoras  desde  la  mas  remota  antigiiedad  hasta  los  momentos 
actuales.  Aplicarnos  exclusivamente  ese  criterio,  como  nos  lo 
han  aplicado  muchos  escritores  extranos  y  nosotros  tambien,  a 
lo  menos  una  gran  parte  de  nuestra  opinion  moderna,  menos 
patriotera  que  celosa  de  no  aparecer  comprometida  con  la 
aprobacion  6  escusa  de  hechos  que  su  conciencia  actual  rechaza, 
es  una  notoria  injusticia.  Pero  convengamos  tambien  en  que 
el  criterio  humanitario  —  v.  gr.  de  un  Reclus  6  de  un  Pi  y  Margall 
—  no  es  ni  el  profesado,  ni  mucho  menos  el  practicado  por  la 
inmensa  rnayona  de  los  hombres  en  todos  los  paises  del  mundo  y 
aun  por  los  gobiernos  mismos  en  los  mas  de  los  casos.  El  mundo, 
pues,  en  general,  no  puede  juzgar  nuestra  historia  sino  con  el 
criterio  que  en  el  domina  y  que  cada  pueblo  aplica  para  juzgar 
sus  hechos  propios  ya  que  no  los  ajenos.  Sera  pues  preciso  con- 
siderar  los  hecho  tildados  de  reprobables  en  nuestra  historia  a  la 
luz  de  ese  criterio  dominante,  para  colocarlos  en  situacion  de 
igualdad  con  todos  los  otros  analogos,  y  depurar,  en  cada  uno,  el 
grado  de  responsabilidad  que  toca  al  individuo  ejecutor  y  al 
pueblo  de  que  era  ciudadano,  habida  consideration  del  medio 
ambiente  en  cada  epoca  ;  v  solo  asi  nos  colocaremos  en  un  terreno 
real,  sobre  el  que  la  aplicacion  del  criterio  filantropico  —  que 
tambien  cabe,  aunque  con  las  debidas  reservas  historicas  —  plantea 
otras  cuestiones  distintas  que  solo  tienen  derecho  a  formular  los 
que  ven  asi  las  cosas  siempre  y  para  todos.  Siempre  resultara 


ESPANA  en  la  historia  del  ocEano  PAClFICO  73 


en  nuestro  haber,  que  las  clases  directoras  espanolas,  en  los  tiempos 
de  la  colonization  rechazaron  y  persiguieron  muchos  hechos  que 
la  coneiencia  general  de  la  epoca  estimaba  llcitos  y  que  a  veces 
los  directores  modernos  defienden  6  realizan  a  tftulo  de  “salus 
populi”  6  como  decimos  en  Espana,  “por  razon  de  Estado,” 
que  suele  ser  una  razon  muy  comoda  y  elastica. 

Y  todavia,  a  ese  ejemplo  juridico  y  moral  que  Espana  dio  en 
aquellos  siglos  a  los  pueblos  del  mundo,  puede  anadirse  otra 
ensenanza  de  orden  espiritual  y  practico  que  no  es,  a  mi  juicio, 
de  las  menores  que  ofrece  nuestra  obra  en  todos  partes  a  donde 
llevamos  nuestra  actividad  y  principalmente  en  estas  regiones  del 
Nuevo  Mundo.  Esa  ensenanza  a  que  me  refiero  ahora,  quiza  no 
hay  otro  pueblo  en  el  mundo  mas  apto  para  comprenderla  en  todo 
lo  que  significa  para  la  vida,  que  el  pueblo  norte-americano.  Nace 
esto  de  un  fondo  comun  de  cualidades,  morales,  quiero  decir  de 
voluntad  y  de  espiritu,  que  espanoles  y  norte-americanos  han 
demostrado  en  momentos  distintos  de  su  historia  y  ante  iguales 
necesidadas  de  la  vida.  Esas  cualidades  son  la  fortaleza  en  el 
sufrimiento,  la  serenidad  en  el  peligro,  la  energia  en  la  lueha,  el 
empuje  en  el  avance,  la  valentfa  y  desprecio  de  las  dificultades 
en  todo  momento ;  las  que  hicieron  posible  entre  vosotros  la 
epopeya  del  West  y  el  Far-West  y  las  que  brillaron  por  tan  alto 
modo  en  nuestros  “descubridores”  y  “conquistadores.”  Asi, 
lo  hecho  por  los  creadores  de  esta  gran  Republica  sobre  la  base 
del  primitivo  hogar  costero  al  Atlantieo,  encuentra  su  precedente 
en  la  obra  de  los  espanoles  del  siglo  XVI,  XVII  y  XVIII,  que 
con  menos  medios  materiales,  tuvieron  que  poner  en  ella  mas 
elemento  personal,  mas  gasto  de  energia  del  sujeto.  Asi  nuestra 
historia  en  America,  y  quiza  mas  en  estas  partes  del  Pacifico,  sera 
siempre  manantial  inagotable  de  esos  “profesores  de  energia” 
con  que  los  pueblos  modernos  decadentes  6  desconfiados  en  su 
propio  poder,  piden  un  contacto  regenerador.  Profesores  asi 
los  tuvimos  entonces  —  tambien  hoy,  sin  ruido,  pero  con  igual 
positiva  eficacia  respecto  de  las  luchas  modernas  en  nuestra  emi¬ 
gration  a  diversos  paises,  —  tantos  y  tan  buenos  y  sugestivos 
como  tiempos  despues  cabe  encontrarlos  en  otros  paises.  Su 
ejemplo  puede  servir  no  solo  para  nosotros,  sino  para  todo 
pueblo  que  quiera,  6  ratificar  y  ampliar  sus  cualidades  6  res- 


74 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


taurarlas ;  y  el  haberlo  dado,  ya  es  una  buena  obra  de  la  Espana 
colonial. 

Esa  buena  obra  tuvo,  a  veces,  momentos  sublimes,  cuando  el 
temple  energico  del  alma  se  unfa  a  la  bondad  de  corazon  y  al  sentido 
de  la  justicia  y  la  fraternidad.  Entonces  producla  hechos  como 
el  de  la  colonizacion  de  California,  realizada,  como  ha  escrito 
Torres  Campos,  por  “un  punado  de  hombres  que  supieron  de- 
mostrar  las  aptitudes  singulares  de  nuestro  pueblo  para  la  obra 
de  la  expansion  y  de  la  asimilacion  de  los  indfgenas,  y  lo  que  gentes 
de  superior  cultura  y  espfritu  elevado  pueden  hacer  por  medios 
pacificos  en  favor  de  los  salvajes.”  En  esa  hermosa  pagina  de 
nuestra  historia  en  las  regiones  del  Pacffico,  que  vosotros  habeis 
sabido  apreciar  de  un  modo  tan  noble,  hay  nombre  que  no  pueden 
pronunciarse  sin  un  gran  respeto  y  una  honda  emocion,  —  el 
del  P.  Jumpero  Serra,  de  un  lado,  y  el  de  aquel  P.  Salvatierra, 
cuyas  cartas  al  P.  Ugarte  son  un  alto  ejemplo  de  serenidad  ante 
la  muerte  y  de  persistencia  varonil  en  la  mision  emprendida,  hasta 
el  ultimo  momento,  que  en  nuestros  dlas  tan  solo  puede  compararse 
con  el  diario  del  celebre  Captain  Scott. 

Seame  permitido  poner  bajo  la  egida  de  estos  grandes  nombres 
la  termination  de  este  trabajo. 

Mediante  ellos  y  otros  mas,  la  historia  de  la  civilization  de 
California  se  enlaza  con  la  de  mi  patria  espanola,  y  ambas  tienen, 
por  algun  tiempo,  un  campo  comun.  Esto  autoriza  a  pensar  que 
podemos  trabajar  como  companeros,  los  eruditos  californianos 
y  los  espanoles  en  muchas  cosas,  y  que  tal  vez,  aquf  podria  co- 
menzar  la  realizacion  practica  de  un  proyecto  que  en  1909  expuse 
por  primera  vez  en  algunas  republicas  hispano-americanos,4  y  que 
ahora  veo  igualmente  defendido  por  el  profesor  Stephens,  a  saber, 
el  establecimiento,  en  el  Archivo  de  Indias,  de  escuelas  seme- 
jantes  a  las  que  todas  las  naciones  han  creado  para  el  estudio  de 
los  Archivos  Secretos  del  Vaticano.  La  idea  encontrarfa  camino 
ya  hecho  en  algunos  lugares  de  Espana  que  no  son  de  los  que 
menos  pueden  influir  en  el  exito  de  ella,  y  cierta  preparation 
incluso  en  el  terreno  oficial.  Yo  me  congratularia  mucho  con  que 
el  resultado  practico  de  esta  visita  mfa  a  San  Francisco  fuese 
la  realizacion  de  lo  que  considero,  al  par  del  profesor  Stephens  f 
4  Los  tferminos  de  61  pueden  verse  en  mi  libro  Mi  Viaje  d  America. 


ESPAftA  en  LA  HISTORIA  DEL  OCfiANO  PAClFICO  75 


como  una  necesidad  de  nuestias  comunes  investigaciones  y  como 
una  prenda  de  fraternidad  intelectual  entre  ambos  paises.  Y  aun 
creo  que  esa  labor  historica  en  busca  de  la  verdad  referente  al 
pasado,  no  ha  de  ser  la  unica  obra  comun  que  en  lo  futuro  reali- 
zaran  los  Estados  Unidos  y  Espana.  Otras  hay  que  a  las  dos 
naciones  obligan  en  punto  al  deber  que  ambas  tienen  de  impulsar 
el  cumplimiento  de  los  ideales  de  humanidad  y  civilizacion,  eosa 
que,  sin  duda  alguna,  solo  puede  lograrse  mediante  la  amistosa 
colaboracion  de  las  cualidades  originales  que  la  historia  ha  de- 
mostrado  en  cada  pueblo. 


SESSION  OF  THE  PANAMA-PACIFIC  HISTORICAL 

CONGRESS 


Held  at  Native  Sons  Hall,  San  Francisco 
July  22,  1915 

The  Congress  was  called  to  order  at  8  : 30  p.m.  by  the  Chairman. 

The  Chairman:  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  When  there  was 
confided  to  me  by  the  American  Historical  Association  the  task 
of  preparing  the  programme  for  this  Panama-Pacific  Plistorical 
Congress  the  matter  of  local  history  caused  me  less  trouble  than 
any  other  part  of  the  programme.  It  was  a  matter  of  some  difficulty 
to  obtain  speakers  upon  other  countries  upon  the  Pacific  Ocean ; 
it  was  not  a  very  difficult  matter  to  find  speakers  competent  to 
deal  with  American  Pacific  Coast  History,  but  the  easiest  task 
was  to  select  the  speaker  upon  the  History  of  California,  for  the 
very  obvious  reason  that  there  is  but  one  organized  body  of  per¬ 
sons  in  the  State  of  California  who  are  interested  in  the  history 
of  California ;  and  that  body  is  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden 
West. 

According  to  the  original  plan  of  the  Historical  Congress,  the 
various  evening  addresses  were  to  be  given  in  the  Inside  Inn,  in 
the  Exposition  buildings,  but,  fortunately,  the  Inside  Inn  was 
occupied  by  a  Greek  letter  fraternity,  and  so  I  have  the  good 
fortune  to  be  able  to  open  this  session  on  California  History,  to 
be  held  where  it  ought  to  be  held,  —  in  the  Native  Sons  Hall,  — 
in  the  city  of  San  Francisco. 

I  want  here  to  thank  the  Committee  of  the  Native  Sons  for  what 
they  have  done  in  arranging  for  the  meetings  to-night  and  to-morrow 
night,  and  particularly  Mr.  Roland  Roche,  who,  as  chairman  of 
their  Committee,  has  been  patient,  —  and  he  needed  patience,  — 
industrious,  and  exceedingly  courteous.  So,  at  this  meeting,  the 

76 


PANAMA-PACIFIC  HISTORICAL  CONGRESS 


77 


first  ever  held  upon  the  Pacific  Coast  dealing  with  history  gener¬ 
ally  —  a  meeting  which  is  creating  much  more  interest  outside 
of  San  Francisco  than  inside  San  Francisco,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  people  inside  San  Francisco  are  so  much  engaged  with  the 
Exposition  and  with  people  wearing  badges  of  different  kinds  that 
it  is  very  hard  for  them  to  understand  the  real  significance  of 
some  of  the  great  congresses  that  are  being  held  here  this  summer. 
I  will  venture  to  assert  that  it  will  be  considered  in  years  to  come 
that  one  of  the  most  important  gatherings  that  has  been  held  in 
San  Francisco  this  summer  is  the  Panama-Pacific  Historical  Con¬ 
gress,  and  the  volume  which  will  contain  the  papers  that  have 
been  read  and  the  speeches  and  addresses  that  have  been  delivered 
at  this  congress  will  be  one  of  the  permanent  acquisitions  to  his¬ 
torical  knowledge. 

Now,  I  have  asked  the  permission  of  the  speaker  of  the  even¬ 
ing  —  and  that  Judge  Davis  should  be  selected  was  obvious,  for 
there  can  be  no  question  as  to  who  should  be  selected  to  speak  on 
California  history  at  this  gathering  of  visitors  from  the  East  and 
from  Europe,  —  to  take  a  few  minutes  to  say  something  about 
California  history  in  its  relation  to  historical  research. 

We  have  present  upon  this  platform,  and  I  am  very,  very 
proud  of  their  presence,  the  veteran  historian  of  California,  Mr. 
Theodore  Hittell  —  I  am  glad,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  that  you 
recognize  the  greatness  of  his  services  to  California  history  — 
and  a  very  much  younger  historian  of  California,  in  the  person 
of  our  friend,  Mr.  Zoeth  S.  Eldredge,  for  when  Judge  John  F. 
Davis  consented  to  make  the  address  of  the  evening,  I  never  rested 
until  I  could  obtain  the  consent  of  Mr.  Hittell  and  Mr.  Eldredge 
to  occupy  this  stage  with  me.  But,  after  all,  it  is  not  my  business 
to  talk  about  historians  of  California.  I  want  to  spend  my  minute 
or  two  upon  not  only  what  has  been  done  in  the  writing  of  history 
by  these  two  gentlemen,  but  in  the  collection  of  materials  for  Cal¬ 
ifornia  history.  I  presume  a  century  or  two  will  pass  —  but  to 
the  historian  a  century  or  two  is  a  very  trifling  matter  —  before 
the  enormous  value  of  the  Bancroft  Collection  will  be  recognized, 
even  in  California.  The  work  that  Mr.  Bancroft  did  in  collect¬ 
ing  these  documents  was  something  that  places  him  among  the 
four  or  five  great  historical  collectors  of  the  world.  It  has  so 


78 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


happened  that  only  once  or  twice  before  in  the  world’s  history 
has  there  been  a  man  inspired  to  collect,  while  great  things  were 
being  done,  the  actual  documents  that  recorded  those  very  things. 
Now  Mr.  Bancroft  lived  in  the  days  when  it  was  possible  to  col¬ 
lect  documents  and  to  collect  living  memorials  of  the  beginnings 
of  California  civilization  from  the  lips  of  those  who  made  it.  I 
say  a  century  or  two  will  elapse  before  the  value  of  the  Bancroft 
Collection  will  be  generally  known.  Mr.  H.  H.  Bancroft  was 
one  of  those  omnivorous  collectors,  who  regarded  everything  as 
fish  that  came  into  his  net.  He  was  ready  to  collect  anything, 
printed  or  written,  that  could  tell  the  tale  in  the  slightest  degree 
of  the  foundations  of  California’s  civilization.  Many,  many 
long  years  ago  in  Europe,  when  I  was  but  a  student,  I  remember 
reading  an  article  in  the  great  French  review,  the  Revue  Univer- 
sitaire,  written  by  one  of  the  most  famous  of  the  French  historians, 
Professor  C.  V.  Langlois,  in  which  he  dealt  with  what  he  called 
Bancroft  and  Company  —  “Bancroft  et  Compagnie”  —  and  the 
way  in  which  Mr.  Bancroft  collected  the  documents  which  are 
to-day  the  chief  glory  of  the  library  of  the  University  of  California. 
But  while  the  Regents  of  the  University  were  induced  to  purchase 
the  collection,  and  thus  to  make  possible  for  the  first  time  the  study 
of  California  history  from  the  original  documents,  very  little 
could  have  been  done  to  make  known  what  was  collected  there  had 
it  not  been  for  the  formation  of  the  Academy  of  Pacific  Coast  His¬ 
tory.  It  was  organized  by  a  few  generous,  liberal  minded,  open 
hearted  men  and  women  of  California,  presided  over  by  Mr.  Ru¬ 
dolph  J.  Taussig.  It  became  possible,  through  their  generosity, 
not  only  to  work  over  much  of  the  Bancroft  material,  but  to  be¬ 
gin  the  publication  in  the  original  Spanish  of  many  early  doc¬ 
uments  of  California  history,  and  to  begin  to  set  together,  in 
printed  form,  much  that  will  eventually  cause  the  true  history  of 
California  to  be  written. 

As  my  eye  runs  over  the  list  of  the  members  of  the  Council  of 
the  Academy,  I  cannot  forbear  regretting  the  absence  from  that 
list  of  the  names  of  late  United  States  Senator  Bard,  who  was  one  of 
the  original  members  of  the  Council  of  the  Academy,  and  took 
the  keenest  interest  in  its  work ;  and  of  the  member  of  the  Council 
who  passed  from  us  but  last  week,  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Frederick 


PANAMA-PACIFIC  HISTORICAL  CONGRESS 


79 


W.  Sharon  ;  men  like  Mr.  Sharon  and  the  late  Senator  Bard  took 
a  keen  and  personal  interest  in  the  encouragement  of  California 
history.  But  happily  there  still  remains  upon  the  list  the  name  of 
the  friend  of  all  good  work,  in  whatever  field  it  may  be,  Mrs. 
Phoebe  Apperson  Hearst,  and  the  names  of  many  others  who  are 
well  known  in  the  life  of  San  Francisco  and  California.  The  gen¬ 
erosity  of  the  members  of  the  Academy  of  the  Pacific  Coast  His¬ 
tory  has  made  possible  the  arrangement  of  much  of  the  Bancroft 
material  and  the  starting,  under  the  direction  of  Professor  Teggart, 
the  Curator  of  the  Bancroft  Library,  of  the  publication  of  some 
of  our  California  documents.  But  while  the  Council  of  the  Acad¬ 
emy  did  much,  it  was  necessary  to  look  further  afield  for  the 
training  of  workers  and  editors. 

One  would  hardly  appreciate,  until  he  tries  to  pronounce  San 
Jose  as  if  it  were  of  English  origin,  that  the  origin  of  our  civilization 
was  Spanish.  It  was  therefore  necessary  to  study  Spanish  his¬ 
tory  in  order  to  understand  the  Spanish  origin  of  California.  Sev¬ 
eral  years  ago  the  suggestion  was  made  that  the  Native  Sons  of 
the  Golden  West  should  do  something  to  aid  the  cause  of  his¬ 
torical  research.  President  Wheeler,  of  the  University  of  Cali¬ 
fornia,  spoke  to  your  membership  and  said  that  you  should  do 
something  in  that  direction,  but  it  was  your  present  Grand  Presi¬ 
dent,  Judge  John  F.  Davis,  who  really  planned  to  aid  historical 
studies  effectually.  It  was  largely  at  his  suggestion  that  the 
Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West  established  two  travelling  fellow¬ 
ships  in  California  History,  and  you  who  subscribed,  do  not  know, 
cannot  know,  will  not  know  the  greatness  of  the  work  you  have 
begun. 

In  other  States  of  the  Union,  there  are  subsidized  historical 
societies.  The  State  of  Wisconsin  spends  forty  thousand  dollars 
a  year  on  historical  work.  The  State  of  Iowa  —  and  it  has  not 
a  very  great  deal  of  history  —  spends  thirty-twro  thousand  dollars 
a  year  on  its  documents.  Up  to  this  year,  until  induced  to  do 
something  by  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West,  the  State  of 
California  as  a  State  did  nothing  for  History,  but  the  Native 
Sons  of  the  Golden  West  established  these  travelling  fellowships, 
and  it  is  my  business  to  know  the  general  opinion  held  of  these 
historical  travelling  fellowships.  All  over  the  United  States  there 


80 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


has  been  an  expression  of  admiration  for  the  way  in  which  the 
Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West  have  done  what  the  State  ought 
to  have  done,  in  the  establishment  of  those  travelling  fellowships. 
Since  they  were  founded  much  work  has  been  done  in  Spain,  in 
London,  Paris,  and  elsewhere.  So  long  as  you  maintain  our  fel¬ 
lowships  you  are  building  up  a  school  of  young  historians.  It 
was  a  great  delight  to  me  to  see  that  the  Board  of  Regents  this 
year  appointed  to  the  faculty  of  the  State  University,  an  Assistant 
Professor  of  California  history.  For  the  first  time  during  the  past 
year  a  course  has  been  offered  to  the  students  in  California  his¬ 
tory;  for  the  first  time  an  effort  has  been  made  to  train  future 
teachers,  so  that  they  should  be  able  to  teach,  intelligently  and 
enthusiastically,  California  history.  The  man  who  has  been 
chosen  to  be  the  first  professor  of  California  history  is  a  man  who 
has  been  always  ready  to  acknowledge  that  the  chance,  that  he 
so  swiftly  availed  himself  of,  to  go  to  Europe  and  study,  was  given 
to  him  by  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West,  and  you  are  going 
to  hear  much  in  the  years  to  come  of  the  work  done  in  California 
history  by  our  first  professor  of  California  History,  Professor 
Charles  E.  Chapman. 

But  the  founding  of  fellowships  is  not  the  only  thing  that  the 
Native  Sons  have  done.  Last  year  the  Native  Sons  took  it  upon 
themselves  to  try  to  put  through  —  and  it  has  been  put  through 
in  other  States  —  a  survey  of  local  historical  material.  The  bill 
was  well  drawn  by  a  Native  Son  of  the  Golden  West ;  the  plan  was 
well  thought  out,  —  based  upon  the  experience  of  Connecticut  and 
Iowa,  in  particular  of  Iowa,  which  is  the  most  enthusiastic,  so  far 
as  I  can  discover,  of  the  middle  western  states  in  historical  research, 
—  of  a  system  by  which  there  should  be  made  a  regular  survey  of 
existing  historical  documents.  Those  documents  are  being  de¬ 
stroyed  and  lost  year  by  year,  sometimes  burned  up.  I  have 
heard  of  the  Supervisors  of  one  county  who  deliberately  burned 
up  some  tons  of  documents  of  the  Spanish  period,  because  they 
said  they  wanted  the  room  for  “more  important  things”  — 
records,  I  presume  of  cases  of  infringement,  of  some  small  sort, 
of  local  liberties. 

The  local  documents  in  California  must  be  surveyed.  Then  an 
attempt  must  be  made  to  preserve  —  I  am  addressing  an  audience 


PANAMA-PACIFIC  HISTORICAL  CONGRESS 


81 


now  of  the  Native  Sons  and  Native  Daughters  of  our  State  — 
through  them  the  work  of  their  fathers  and  grandfathers,  and 
more  particularly  their  mothers  and  grandmothers,  who  lived  in 
this  State.  Therefore,  it  filled  my  soul  with  joy  when  the  Native 
Sons  of  the  Golden  West  got  behind  that  plan,  which  your  Grand 
President  originated,  of  making  a  survey  of  the  documents  bear¬ 
ing  upon  local  history,  and  I  know  how  they,  in  slang  phrase, 
“Got  busy”  and  bombarded  the  legislature;  and  how  the  legis¬ 
lature,  not  liking  the  bombardment,  passed  the  bill  that  the 
Native  Sons  fathered.  Then  came  the  question  of  whether  the 
bill  should  be  signed,  and  again  it  was  the  Native  Sons  of  the 
Golden  West,  represented  by  their  Grand  President,  who  per¬ 
suaded  the  Governor  of  California  —  and  as  a  loyal  son  of  Cali¬ 
fornia  Governor  Johnson  did  not  need  much  persuasion  —  to 
sign  that  bill. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  I  thank  you,  every  one  of  you,  who  be¬ 
long  to  the  patriotic  order  of  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West ; 
it  was  you  who  did  this  thing,  just  as  you  helped  to  make  possible 
the  study  of  the  Spanish  origins  of  California  through  your  work 
in  establishing  the  travelling  fellowships.  So  it  is  you,  and  you 
only,  who  have  made  possible  the  preservation  of  the  documents 
that  give  the  history  of  the  American  period  in  the  settlement  of 
California. 

And  now,  having  spoken  longer  than  I  ought,  you  may  perhaps 
understand  why  it  is  I  had  no  doubt  as  to  who  was  the  right  per¬ 
son  to  speak  to  you  this  evening  in  this  one  local  California  ses¬ 
sion  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Historical  Congress.  It  did  not  take 
a  half  a  minute  for  me  to  be  quite  certain  that  the  man  of  all 
others  to  come  forth  and  speak  to  you  on  California  history  and 
to  make  the  contribution  (which  will  be  printed  in  the  memorial 
volume  of  this  Congress)  is  your  Grand  President,  and  that  he 
should  speak  here  before  the  delegates  who  have  come  from  for¬ 
eign  countries ;  among  them  Professor  Altamira,  who  has  come  to  us 
all  the  way  from  Spain  in  order  to  show  his  interest  in  our  efforts 
to  preserve  and  study  Spanish  California  history,  and  in  the 
presence  of  Professor  Murakami,  of  Japan,  who  has  come  all  the 
distance  from  Tokyo,  delegated  by  the  Japanese  Government,  to 
give  some  idea  of  the  interest  that  not  only  Spain  but  Japan  takes 


82 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


in  the  growth  of  historical  study  in  California,  a  growth  made 
possible  largely  by  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West. 

Therefore,  it  is  that  the  proudest  moment  of  my  tenure  of  office 
as  President  of  the  American  Historical  Association  and  thus  of 
this  historical  congress  is  this  moment,  when  I  can  declare  openly 
before  you  all  —  I  only  wish  there  were  more  of  you  —  openly 
before  you  all  what  is  due  to  the  Order  of  the  Native  Sons  of  the 
Golden  West,  first,  in  the  foundation  of  fellowships ;  next,  in  their 
encouragement  of  the  work  of  surveying  local  documents.  That 
I  should  be  able  this  evening  to  introduce  as  the  speaker  of  the 
evening  the  Grand  President  of  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden 
West,  the  Honorable  John  F.  Davis,  and  ask  him  here  to  speak  in 
the  presence  of  the  historians  Mr.  Hittell  and  Mr.  Eldredge,  makes 
me  feel  that  indeed  California  history  is  coming  into  its  own  at 
last,  —  the  history  which  shows  us  here  how  upon  the  basis  of 
Spanish  exploration  there  grew  up  the  most  splendid,  most  typical 
of  American  democracies. 

Ladies  and  gentlemen,  let  me  introduce  to  you  the  Honorable 
John  F.  Davis,  Grand  President  of  the  Order  of  the  Native  Sons 
of  the  Golden  West. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


John  F.  Davis 

One  great  difference  between  the  history  of  the  commonwealths 
on  the  eastern  seaboard  and  California  arises  out  of  the  fact  that 
the  colonies  out  of  which  they  grew  were  in  existence  so  short  a 
time  as  colonies  before  they  became  independent  states.  One 
result  of  this  is  that  the  period  during  which  their  history  was  a 
part  of  European  history,  or  dependent  upon  European  history, 
was  comparatively  short,  while  their  history  as  independent  com¬ 
monwealths  is,  comparatively  speaking,  their  real  history.  Not 
only  was  their  colonial  history  comparatively  short,  but  the 
control  of  their  own  affairs  was,  even  during  their  colonial  periods, 
so  intimately  their  own,  that  their  history  was  in  only  a  very  slight 
degree,  if  at  all,  dependent  upon  the  events  of  European  history, 
or  upon  the  plans  and  schemes  of  European  diplomacy.  What¬ 
ever  relation  there  may  have  been  was  snapped  in  1776,  and  from 
the  end  of  the  Revolution  their  affairs  have  been  dependent 
almost  entirely  upon  American  issues,  and  a  recital  of  their  history 
becomes  rational  and  interesting  without  a  concordant  knowledge 
of  European  history  to  furnish  a  key. 

With  California  history,  on  the  other  hand,  back  of  1821,  the 
date  of  the  establishment  of  Mexico’s  independence  from  Spain, 
the  whole  story  is  one  of  European  history,  of  European  govern¬ 
mental  plans  and  policies,  and  not  until  that  date  did  its  history 
become  in  any  sense  American.  The  result  is  that  a  history  of 
events  on  these  western  shores  before  that  date  needs  a  complete 
knowledge  of  concordant  European  history  to  furnish  the  key. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  splendid  work  of  the  navigators :  unless 
we  have  the  informing  knowledge  of  what  went  on  behind  the 
scenes  in  Europe  at  a  corresponding  period,  our  history  of  the 
struggle  of  those  interesting  centuries,  no  matter  how  heroic, 

83 


84 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


becomes  a  mere  recital  of  events,  and  therefore  somewhat  dry  to 
an  audience  looking  for  the  mainsprings  of  civic  and  political  life 
and  action.  What  would  be  thought  of  a  life  of  Columbus  that 
consisted  only  of  the  daily  logs  of  the  Santa  Maria  and  the  other 
two  ships  on  the  first  voyage  and  the  logs  of  the  ships  upon  the 
other  voyages,  with  all  the  accompanying  history  of  Spain  —  the 
struggle  and  triumph  at  the  Court  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 
the  disputes  before  the  councils  of  the  nobles,  La  Rabida,  the 
correspondence  with  Toscanelli,  the  intrigues  of  diplomacy,  and 
all  the  rest  of  it  —  omitted  ?  And  it  is  precisely  this  background 
in  full  detail  that  we  need  to  vivify  the  narrative  of  California 
history  before  the  Mexican  revolution,  and  the  Academy  of 
Pacific  Coast  History  at  Berkeley  and  the  Professors  of  the 
Department  of  Spanish-American  History  at  the  University  of 
California,  are  entitled  to  the  thanks  of  the  American  Historical 
Association  and  of  all  scientific  historians  and  to  the  support  of 
all  our  people  because  they  have  undertaken  in  archives  and 
monasteries  and  church  records  and  chancelleries  the  research 
necessary  to  supply  the  need. 

And  yet  —  even  with  the  documents  we  already  have  —  the 
early  history  of  the  world-drama  on  this  ocean  and  on  these 
shores  has  begun  to  unfold,  and  at  the  risk  of  being  somewhat 
“woodeny”  for  the  reasons  I  have  stated,  I  shall  attempt,  before 
going  on  to  the  vital  things  which  we  do  understand,  to  call  your 
attention  to  a  few  outstanding  objective  facts  of  the  early  story 
of  this  Coast.  And,  first  of  all,  the  name  “California.” 

Christopher  Columbus,  in  one  of  his  reports  to  his  sovereigns, 
gave  the  name  of  the  “Terrestrial  Paradise”  to  the  beautiful  mesa 
region  near  the  head  waters  of  the  Orinoco  River,  in  what  was 
afterward  called  Colombia,  in  South  America.  Montalvo’s 
charming  fairy  tale,  entitled  The  Deeds  of  Esplandian,  the  Son 
of  Amadis  of  Gaul,  was  published  in  Spain  as  early  as  1510, 
eighteen  years  after  the  discovery  of  America,  and  the  thrilling 
romance  was  the  story  of  its  day. 

“Know  then,”  reads  the  story,  “that  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
Indies  there  is  an  island  called  California,  very  close  to  the  side 
of  the  Terrestrial  Paradise,  and  it  was  peopled  by  black  women, 
without  any  man  among  them,  for  they  lived  in  the  fashion  of 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


85 


Amazons.  They  were  of  strong  and  hardened  bodies,  of  ardent 
courage  and  great  force.  The  island  was  the  strongest  in  the 
world  from  its  steep  rocks  and  great  cliffs.  Their  arms  were 
all  of  gold,  and  so  was  the  harness  of  the  wild  beasts  which  they 
tamed  and  rode.  Now,  in  the  whole  island,  there  was  no  metal 
but  gold.  They  also  had  many  ships,  in  which  they  made 
war  and  brought  home  to  their  island  abundant  plunder ;  and  by 
reason  of  its  rocky  shores  and  steep  cliffs,  there  was  no  island 
in  any  sea  stronger  than  this  island  of  California,  nor  so  strong. 
In  this  island,  called  California,  there  were  many  griffins, 
on  account  of  the  great  ruggedness  of  the  country  and  its 
infinite  host  of  wild  beasts,  such  as  never  were  seen  in  any  other 
part  of  the  world.  Every  man  who  landed  on  these  islands 
was  immediately  devoured  by  these  griffins.”  Of  this  wonder¬ 
land  of  fable,  wh6re  precious  gems  were  in  great  abundance  and 
where  the  only  metal  was  gold,  Calafia  was  queen,  and  after  her 
the  island  was  named.  Of  her  it  was  said  that  she  was  “very 
large  in  person,  the  most  beautiful  of  them  all,  of  blooming  years, 
and  in  her  thoughts  desirous  of  achieving  great  things,  strong  of 
limb  and  of  great  courage,  more  than  any  of  those  who  had  filled 
her  throne  before  her.” 

That  the  name  had  been  given  to  the  country  by  Cortes  was 
known  to  historians,  but  the  source  whence  he  had  obtained  it 
had  long  been  a  baffling  question.  For  the  discovery  of  this 
long  forgotten  romance  and  the  final  solution  of  the  derivation  of 
the  name  California,  the  world  is  indebted  to  the  patient  research 
and  the  brilliant  scholarship  of  Edward  Everett  Hale. 

No  matter  what  credit  of  discovery  France  may  compel  in 
Canada  and  on  the  Mississippi,  or  England  and  Holland  may 
compel  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  Spain  was  the  undisputed  pioneer 
of  the  Pacific.  Columbus  was  an  Italian,  but  he  sailed  in  the 
employ  and  under  the  colors  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  Magellan 
and  Cabrillo  were  Portuguese,  but  they  sailed  in  the  service  of 
Spain  beneath  the  standard  of  Castile  and  Leon.  Ponce  de 
Leon,  De  Soto,  Narvaez,  Balboa,  Pizarro,  Cortes,  Maldonado, 
Grijalva,  Mendoza,  Ulloa,  Ferrelo,  Cermeno,  Vizcaino,  Galvez, 
Portola,  Anza,  —  all  were  Spaniards  in  the  employ  of  the  Spanish 
crown.  The  first  circumnavigation  of  the  globe  by  Magellan  and 


86 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


his  companions,  after  an  expedition  lasting  eleven  hundred  and 
twenty-four  days,  John  W.  Draper  has  called  “  the  greatest  achieve¬ 
ment  in  the  history  of  the  human  race.”  One  of  the  truest  of  our 
modern  critics,  Charles  F.  Lummis,  has  said :  “  We  love  man¬ 
hood  ;  and  the  Spanish  pioneering  of  the  Americas  was  the  largest, 
longest,  and  most  marvellous  feat  of  manhood  in  all  history.” 
And  the  discovery  of  California  is  as  legitimate  an  offspring  of 
Spanish  pioneering  activity  as  any  other  section  of  the  Pacific 
Coast. 

The  early  history  of  this  coast  is  of  a  relative  antiquity  not 
always  realized.  A  mere  statement  of  dates  does  not  always 
make  the  point  clear.  “A  hundred  years  before  John  Smith  saw 
the  spot  on  which  was  planted  Jamestown,”  says  H.  H.  Bancroft, 
“thousands  from  Spain  had  crossed  the  high  seas,  achieving 
mighty  conquests,  seizing  large  portions  of  the  ‘two  Americas  and 
placing  under  tribute  their  peoples.”  Balboa  discovered  the 
Pacific  Ocean  two  hundred  and  seventy-six  years  before  the  French 
Revolution  began.  Cabrillo  sailed  into  San  Diego  harbor  four 
years  before  Martin  Luther  died.  Sir  Francis  Drake  careened  the 
Golden  Hind  under  the  lee  of  Point  Reyes  before  Shakespeare 
had  learned  his  alphabet.  Jumpero  Serra  founded  our  Mission 
of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  in  the  same  year  that  the  Liberty  Bell 
rang  out  the  Declaration  of  Independence  in  Independence  Hall. 

The  past  of  California  possesses  a  wealth  of  romantic  interest, 
a  variety  of  contrast,  a  novelty  of  resourcefulness  and  an  intrinsic 
importance  that  enthralls  the  imagination.  The  Spanish  explora¬ 
tion  initiated  by  Cortes  and  afterwards  revived  by  Galvez,  a  mar¬ 
vellous  drama  of  world-politics  on  these  western  shores,  the  civil¬ 
ization  and  colonization  by  the  missions  of  the  Franciscan  fathers 
and  the  presidios  of  the  army,  the  meteoric  visit  of  Sir  Francis 
Drake  and  his  brother  freebooters,  the  ominous  encroachments 
of  the  Russian  outposts,  the  decades  of  the  pastoral  life  of  the 
haciendas  and  its  princely  hospitality  culminating  in  “the  splendid 
idle  forties,”  the  petty  political  controversies  of  the  Mexican 
regime  and  the  play  of  plot  and  counterplot  “before  the  Gringo 
came,”  the  secret  diplomatic  movements  of  the  United  States  to 
ensure  the  blocking  of  possible  Russian,  French,  and  English 
intrigue,  the  excitement  of  the  conquest  and  the  governmental 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


87 


problems  of  the  interregnum  following  the  Mexican  war,  the 
story  of  the  discovery  of  gold  and  its  world-thrilling  incidents  and 
of  the  hardship  and  courage  of  the  emigrant  trail,  the  constitutional 
convention  at  Colton  Hall  and  the  unique  method  of  the  State’s 
admission  into  the  Union,  the  era  of  the  Yankee  clipper  ships, 
the  strenuous  fight  to  save  the  state  to  the  cause  of  freedom  cul¬ 
minating  in  the  Broderick-Terry  duel,  —  these  and  later  civic 
events  of  equal  intensity  and  importance  make  a  story  absolutely 
kaleidoscopic  in  its  contrasts  and  variety,  impossible  to  cover 
within  the  limitations  of  an  evening  address. 

Gold  was  the  lure  of  the  first  Spanish  expeditions  and  dis¬ 
coveries  in  California.  When,  in  1513,  Balboa  first  gazed  upon 
the  Pacific  Ocean  —  “silent,  upon  a  peak  in  Darien”  —  Pizarro, 
the  conqueror  of  Peru,  stood  at  his  side.  “The  accursed  thirst  of 
gold”  cost  the  Incas  their  treasures  and  their  civilization.  When, 
in  1519,  Cortes  burned  his  ships  at  Vera  Cruz,  in  order  that  there 
might  be  no  retreat,  the  mines,  the  treasures  and  the  palaces  of 
Montezuma  and  the  Incas  were  the  prizes  to  be  won.  Moreover, 
an  age  that  had  seen  and  read  the  reports  of  the  marvellous  wealth 
of  Peru  and  New  Spain  (as  Mexico  was  then  called)  could  easily 
believe  any  story  of  marvellous  riches  that  might  be  told.  No 
sooner  had  Cortes  completed  the  conquest  of  Mexico  than  rumors 
of  riches  in  the  north  led  to  preparations  for  its  exploration. 

Many  were  the  expeditions  to  the  north  attempted  by  Cortes. 
He  first  built  four  ships  at  Zacatula,  but  they  were  burned  before 
launching.  After  five  years  four  more  ships  were  built  and 
launched,  but  intrigue  at  home  prevented  the  sailing  of  more  than 
one,  the  ship  commanded  by  Maldonado,  which  did  not  quite 
reach  Lower  California,  but  returned  to  Zacatula  with  the  usual 
accounts  of  fertile  lands  and  precious  metals.  Two  new  ships 
built  by  Cortes  left  Acapulco  in  1532  but  were  doomed  to  failure. 
Finally  two  more  ships  were  built  by  Cortes  and  were  sent  out 
from  Tehuantepec  in  1533,  one  under  Mendoza  and  the  other 
under  Grijalva.  Mendoza’s  crew  mutinied  and  killed  their  captain, 
but  the  mate,  Fortun  Jimenez,  continued  the  voyage  until  they 
discovered  what  they  considered  an  island.  Jimenez  and  twrenty  of 
his  men  were  killed  by  the  Indians  upon  attempting  to  land,  and 
the  survivors  of  the  crew  escaped  to  the  eastern  shores  of  the 


88 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


water,  where  the  ship  was  seized,  and  the  few  remaining  survivors 
of  this  latest  disaster  finally  brought  to  Cortes  the  news  of  the 
discovery.  So  it  was  Fortun  Jimenez  on  the  ship  Concepcion  that 
first  discovered  the  mysterious  island.  Cortes  then  built  still 
other  ships,  and  in  1535  himself  sailed  with  over  one  hundred  men 
for  the  Bay  of  Santa  Cruz,  on  the  newly  discovered  “island,” 
which  had  itself  been  named  Santa  Cruz.  The  exact  date  when 
he  gave  it  the  name  of  California  is  not  known,  but  it  is  known 
that  by  1540  it  bore  that  name. 

On  this  supposed  island  Cortes  attempted  to  plant  a  colony, 
but  the  scheme  was  not  successful.  The  suffering  of  the  colonists 
were  appalling,  the  death-rate  large,  and  the  pitiful  remnant 
“cursed  Cortez,  his  island,  his  bay,  and  his  discovery.”  Heart¬ 
sick  at  the  sight  of  so  much  suffering,  and  failing  to  find  the  re¬ 
puted  gold  he  had  spent  a  fortune  in  seeking,  he  abandoned  the 
enterprise  and  returned  to  Mexico  proper.  The  first  attempt  at 
colonization  in  the  Californias  had  failed.  Poor  Cortes !  He 
may  have  been  the  first,  but  he  probably  will  not  be  the  last  to 
“go  broke”  hunting  for  gold  mines  in  the  Californias. 

Like  every  man  inoculated  with  the  gold  fever,  however,  he 
was  loath  to  let  go.  Three  years  later  he  sent  Francisco  de  Ulloa 
to  explore  the  northern  coasts.  Ulloa  first  skirted  the  eastern 
coast  of  the  gulf,  and  then,  returning,  sailed  up  the  outer  coast 
as  far  as  29°  56'  north  latitude,  thereby,  at  least,  proving  Lower 
California  to  be  a  peninsula  instead  of  an  island,  though  for 
generations  it  continued  to  be  described  and  delineated  as  an 
island  in  many  official  accounts  and  maps  of  the  period. 

Time  will  not  permit  me  to  relate  the  fascinating  narrative  of 
the  frightful  hardships  of  the  great  expeditions  of  Alarcon  by  sea, 
up  the  gulf  of  California  and  the  Colorado  River,  and  of  Coronado 
by  land,  in  search  of  those  will-o’-the-wisps,  the  fabled  Seven 
Cities  of  Cibola  and  the  mythical  Kingdom  of  Quivira,  the  latter 
at  one  time  supposed  to  be  on  the  coast  of  California  in  the  lati¬ 
tude  of  what  was  subsequently  called  Cape  Mendocino.  It  would 
take  an  evening  alone  properly  to  depict  the  high  hopes,  the 
physical  heroism,  the  horror,  and  the  desolation  of  it  all,  and  in 
the  end  it  turned  away  from,  instead  of  toward,  California.  Once 
more  the  lure  of  promised  fields,  gold  and  precious  stones  had  failed. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


89 


While  Coronado  was  still  absent  on  this  expedition  in  search 
of  Quivira,  Mendoza,  the  Viceroy  of  New  Spain,  sent  the  brave 
and  stout-hearted  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo  on  the  voyage  that  was 
at  last  to  succeed  in  discovering  Alta  or  Upper  California.  Ca¬ 
brillo  started  from  Navidad  June  27,  1542,  with  two  small  ships, 
and  on  September  28th  of  the  same  year  sailed  into  the  beautiful 
Bay  of  San  Diego,  which  he  called  San  Miguel  in  honor  of  Arch¬ 
angel  Michael  whose  day  is  September  29th.  To  Cabrillo  be¬ 
longs  the  illustrious  honor  of  discovering  Alta  California,  he 
“being  the  first  white  man,”  according  to  Hittell,  “so  far  as  we 
have  any  positive  information,  who  laid  his  eyes  or  placed  his  feet 
upon  its  soil.”  Cabrillo  spent  six  days  in  this  harbor  and  vicinity 
and  then  sailed  north.  Storms  separated  his  vessels,  but  they  met 
about  the  middle  of  November  in  the  gulf  which  they  named  the 
Bahia  de  los  Pinos,  because  of  the  pines  which  covered  the  moun¬ 
tains,  the  now  celebrated  Drake’s  Bay,  where  they  were  unable 
to  land,  but  where  they  cast  anchor  in  order  to  take  possession 
of  the  country.  He  was  finally  driven  south  into  the  Gulf  of  the 
Farallones,  into  the  vicinity  of  the  Golden  Gate,  which  he  failed 
to  discover.  The  early  winter  storms  were  upon  him,  and  as  a 
prudent  navigator  he  finally  sailed  for  the  channel  islands,  in  the 
harbor  of  one  of  which  he  cast  anchor.  Here,  on  January  3,  1543, 
Cabrillo  died,  giving  the  command  to  his  mate  Ferrelo,  with  the 
dying  instruction  to  continue  the  voyage,  and  not  quit  until  the 
entire  coast  had  been  explored.  In  honor  of  his  chief,  Ferrelo 
named  the  island  Juan  Rodriguez.  Here  rest  the  ashes  of  the 
great  navigator  who  first  discovered  what  we  now  know  as  Cali¬ 
fornia. 

Right  loyally  did  Ferrelo  carry  out  his  dying  chief’s  instructions. 
On  January  19th,  he  resumed  the  exploration  northward,  and 
speeding  before  a  fierce  gale  he  reached  latitude  42°  30'  north,  on 
March  1st,  and  sighted  Cape  Blanco,  in  southern  Oregon.  The 
severe  storms  continued  until,  after  frightful  sufferings  and  with 
his  provisions  reduced  to  a  few  sea-biscuits,  he  made  for  home, 
reaching  Navidad  April  14,  1543.  The  whole  coast  of  the  present 
California  had  been  at  last  explored,  though  the  Bay  of  San  Fian- 
cisco  had  not  been  discovered. 

Into  this  drama  of  discovery  and  exploration  then  came  one 


90 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


of  those  startling  contrasts  with  which  the  history  of  California  is 
so  replete.  Spain  and  Portugal  had  quarreled  over  the  ocean 
routes  of  travel,  and  Pope  Alexander  VI  had  settled  the  dispute 
by  drawing,  one  hundred  leagues  west  of  the  Cape  Verde  Islands, 
the  famous  north  and  south  Line  of  Demarcation,  in  his  Bull  of 
May  5,  1493.  By  treaty  between  those  powers  the  line  had  been 
afterwards  shifted  two  hundred  and  seventy  leagues  further  west. 
Spain  was  to  be  entitled  to  all  she  discovered  west  of  the  line, 
Portugal  to  all  she  discovered  east  of  the  line.  The  Line  kept 
Spain  from  sailing  east,  and  Portugal  from  sailing  west.  Spanish 
trade  with  the  Philippines  and  the  Far  East  thus  avoided  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  and  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  went  around  South 
America  and  across  the  Pacific.  The  English  claimed,  however, 
that  they  had  the  right  to  trade  with  the  Spanish  colonies  by  virtue 
of  a  treaty  made  with  Spain  in  the  reign  of  Charles  V.  Spain 
denied  the  right,  and  promulgated  the  doctrine  that  there  was 
“no  peace  beyond  the  Line.”  England  retaliated  with  piracy, 
carried  on  by  some  of  her  hardiest  and  most  skilled  navigators. 
In  1578  Sir  Francis  Drake,  the  most  celebrated  and  resourceful 
of  her  freebooters,  came  through  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  and 
up  the  coast  of  South  and  North  America,  and  by  the  time  he 
reached  California  waters  his  ship,  the  Golden  Hind,  was  so  loaded 
with  loot  and  treasure,  that  he  realized  the  desperate  chances  of 
capture  he  would  be  taking  if  he  retraced  his  steps.  He  pushed  on 
seeking  a  passage  through  the  fabled  Strait  of  Anian  till  he  reached 
the  latitude  of  southern  Oregon,  whence,  he  claimed,  the  raging 
weather,  bitter  cold,  and  precarious  condition  of  his  vessel  com¬ 
pelled  him  to  turn  south,  as  Ferrelo  had  done,  but  instead  of  dar¬ 
ing  to  go  to  the  channel  islands,  when  he  came  to  the  Farallones 
he  named  them  the  Islands  of  St.  James,  boldly  made  for  the  shore, 
beached  his  ship  in  what  is  now  known  as  Drake’s  Bay,  claimed 
the  country  for  England,  and  named  it  Nova  Albion — the  first 
New  England  on  this  continent — June  17, 1579,  forty-one  years  be¬ 
fore  the  Mayflower  reached  Plymouth  Rock,  and  two  hundred  and 
two  years  before  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  Here  he  careened  and 
cleaned  his  ship,  the  only  one  left  of  the  five  with  which  he  had 
sailed  from  England,  and  though  he  took  a  month  in  doing  it, 
and  was  all  that  time  within  thirty  miles  of  the  Golden  Gate, 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


91 


he  did  not  discover  the  Gate.  He  conducted  services  according 
to  the  ritual  of  the  Church  of  England,  set  up  a  large  post,  upon 
which  he  nailed  a  brass  plate,  engraved  with  the  name  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  the  date,  the  submission  of  the  Indians,  and  his  own 
name,  and  not  having  been  able  to  find  the  Strait  of  Anian,  he 
provisioned  his  craft  with  seal  meat  from  the  Farallones  and  set 
sail  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  which  he  made  in  good  season, 
and  finally  reached  Plymouth  Harbor,  in  England,  three  years 
after  he  had  left  it,  and  startled  the  world  with  the  news  of  another 
circumnavigation  of  the  globe,  this  time  by  an  Englishman. 

The  next  attempt  at  Spanish  discovery  and  exploration  in  Cali¬ 
fornia  arose  from  a  different  motive  than  the  lure  of  gold.  The 
Philippine  Islands,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  been  discovered 
by  Magellan  in  1521.  By  1565  Spain  had  established  colonies 
there.  The  trade  with  the  Indies,  which  had  been  the  motive 
of  Columbus’  original  voyage  of  discovery,  had  begun  to  make  a 
sort  of  clearing-house  of  the  Philippines,  and  had  become  the 
most  profitable  trade  of  Spain  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries.  Vessels  on  their  return  trip  ordinarily  sailed  by  the 
northern  circle  which  brought  them  in  first  sight  of  land  on  the 
California  coast  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cape  Mendocino,  when 
they  turned  south  for  the  harbor  of  Acapulco.  The  run  was  too 
long,  however,  and  a  harbor  of  refuge,  for  shelter  and  repair,  on 
the  stern  and  rock-bound  coast  was  greatly  desired,  preferably 
not  too  far  from  the  first  landfall  on  the  return  home.  The 
supreme  motive  was  to  find  a  harbor,  and  the  supreme  irony  was 
that  for  nearly  two  hundred  years  navigators  passed  and  repassed 
in  front  of  one  of  the  finest  harbors  of  the  world  and  never  dis¬ 
covered  it.  In  fact,  the  Spanish  government  in  1585  gave  direct 
orders  to  Captain  Gali  for  a  survey  of  the  coast  of  California,  south 
of  Cape  Mendocino,  on  his  return  trip,  and  a  beginning  was  made, 
and  the  survey  resumed  ten  years  later  by  Cermeno,  on  his 
return  trip,  and  continued  to  Point  Reyes,  within  thirty  miles 
of  San  Francisco  Bay,  when  he  lost  his  ship,  his  pilot  and  some 
of  the  crew  escaping  in  an  open  boat. 

Of  such  necessity  was  it  deemed  to  find  a  harbor  that  the 
survey  was  now  attempted  from  the  South.  In  1596  Sebastian 
Vizcaino,  commissioned  by  the  viceroy,  the  Count  of  Monterey, 


92 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


sailed  from  Acapulco.  His  first  trip  was  up  the  Gulf  of  California, 
and  was  a  failure.  In  1G02  he  again  set  sail  from  Acapulco  with 
three  ships  and  a  launch  with  special  instructions  to  survey  the 
coast  from  Cape  St.  Lucas  to  Cape  Mendocino.  He  had  with 
him  the  pilot  of  the  lost  ship  of  Cermeno.  As  the  log  with  the 
map  was  official  it  was  of  great  importance  to  succeeding  ex¬ 
plorers,  but  to  Californians  the  chief  interest  of  Vizcaino’s  second 
trip  consists  in  the  fact  that  the  names  which  he  gave  to  the 
islands,  straits,  capes,  and  other  geographical  prominences  have, 
almost  without  exception,  all  come  down  to  this  day.  On  Novem¬ 
ber  10  he  sailed  into  San  Diego  harbor,  and  changed  its  name 
from  San  Miguel,  the  name  given  by  Cabrillo,  and  named  it  for 
St.  James  of  Alcala  (Spanish,  San  Diego),  whose  anniversary  he 
celebrated  on  the  shore  November  14th.  On  the  26th  he  entered 
and  named  the  harbor  of  San  Pedro  for  St.  Peter,  Bishop  of 
Alexandria,  whose  anniversary  fell  upon  that  date.  He  named 
the  islands  of  Santa  Catalina  and  San  Clemente.  He  named 
Santa  Barbara  channel,  through  which  he  sailed  on  the  Saint’s 
day,  December  4th,  and  also,  for  like  reason,  named  Isla  de  Santa 
Barbara  and  Isla  San  Nicolas,  in  the  latter  instance  supplanting  the 
name  of  Juan  Rodriguez  given  it  by  Ferrelo  in  honor  of  Cabrillo. 
On  the  14th  he  rounded  and  named  Punta  de  la  Concepcion.  Rio 
del  Carmelo  he  named  after  the  three  Carmelite  friars  on  his 
ship.  He  named  the  Point  of  Pines  and  on  December  28,  1602, 
sailed  into  Monterey  Bay,  which  he  named  after  the  Count  of 
Monterey,  who  had  sent  out  the  expedition.  He  landed,  had  the 
mass  celebrated  and  a  Te  Deum  chanted  beneath  the  historic 
oak  at  the  sea-shore,  and  unfurled  the  standard  of  Spain.  Though 
this  bay  is  but  an  open  roadstead,  he  treated  it  as  the  long-sought 
harbor  of  refuge,  and  so  reported  to  his  King.  Sending  back 
the  sick  and  the  helpless  on  one  of  his  ships,  he  pushed  north 
with  the  remainder,  and  as  the  pilot  of  Cermeno’s  wrecked  ship 
claimed  that  chests  of  silk  had  been  left  on  the  shore,  he  made 
the  harbor  of  Drake’s  Bay,  under  the  lee  of  the  cape,  which 
he  named  Punta  de  los  Reyes,  in  honor  of  the  Three  Kings, 
whose  feast  day  had  happened  the  day  of  his  arrival.  No  trace 
of  any  ship  or  cargo  was  found,  and  no  Bay  of  San  Francisco  was 
discovered,  though  but  thirty  miles  away.  He  then  started  north- 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


93 


ward  and  was  driven  by  a  gale  beyond  Cape  Mendocino,  and  when 
the  fog  lifted  on  January  20th,  he  was  in  sight  of  Cape  Blanco, 
off  the  coast  of  southern  Oregon,  when,  as  it  was  the  limit  of  his 
instructions,  with  the  statement  in  his  report  that  the  trend  of 
the  coast  was  onward  “towards  Japan  and  great  China,  which 
are  but  a  short  run  away,”  he  returned  to  Acapulco,  where  he 
arrived  toward  the  end  of  the  following  March.  The  stout  old 
Captain  and  his  men  had  been  much  impressed  by  the  abundance 
and  variety  of  wild  game  in  and  about  Monterey,  and  in  his  report 
he  begged  an  opportunity  to  return  with  sufficient  equipment  to 
make  a  permanent  settlement,  but  by  the  time  the  sovereign’s 
assent  had  been  obtained  he  had  become  too  old  and  infirm 
to  make  the  attempt.  The  discovery  of  the  harbor  and  the 
permanent  settlement  of  country  were  on  the  knees  of  the 
gods,  and  not  for  one  hundred  and  sixty  years  afterwards  was 
it  destined  to  be  accomplished,  and  then  from  the  land  and  not 
from  the  sea. 

When  we  remember  Cabrillo,  Ferrelo,  Drake,  Gali,  Cermeno, 
Vizcaino,  and  all  the  others  that  passed  and  repassed  the  gate 
without  seeing  it,  may  we  not  ask  ourselves,  Was  the  curtain  of 
fog  always  lowered  as  a  screen  before  a  vessel  passed?  Or  was 
the  Gate  always  just  below  the  horizon?  Marvellous  it  is  that  so 
many  of  these  landed  under  the  lee  of  Point  Reyes  and  discovered 
nothing.  More  marvellous  still  that  no  member  of  Drake’s  crew, 
in  all  the  thirty  days’  stay,  ever  climbed  an  eminence  that  com¬ 
manded  a  view.  Most  marvellous  of  all  that  the  pilot  and  crew  of 
Cermeno,  escaping  in  an  open  boat,  which  would  naturally  have 
kept  comparatively  close  to  the  shore,  saw  nothing.  A  wonderful 
part  has  that  mantle  of  fog  played  in  the  history  of  San  Francisco 
Bay !  No  wonder  we  take  down  from  the  shelf  the  old  Indian 
legend,  and  read  it  again : 

“There  was  once  a  time  when  the  entire  face  of  the  country 
was  covered  with  water,  except  two  islands,  one  of  which  was 
Mt.  Diablo,  the  other  Tamalpais.  As  the  Indians  increased 
the  waters  decreased,  until  where  the  lake  had  been  became  dry 
land.  At  that  time  what  is  now  known  as  the  Golden  Gate  was 
an  entire  chain  of  mountains,  so  that  you  could  go  from  one  side 
to  the  other  dry-shod.  There  were  at  this  time  two  outlets  for 


94 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


the  waters :  one  was  Russian  River,  the  other  San  Juan.  Some 
time  afterwards  a  great  earthquake  severed  the  chain  of  moun¬ 
tains,  and  formed  what  is  now  known  as  the  Golden  Gate.  Then 
the  waters  of  the  Great  Ocean  and  the  Bay  were  permitted  to 
mingle.  The  rocky  wall  being  rent  asunder,  it  was  not  long 
before  the  ‘pale  faces’  found  their  way  in,  and,  as  the  waters 
decreased  at  the  coming  of  the  Indians,  so  have  the  Indians  de¬ 
creased  at  the  approach  of  the  white  man,  until  the  whoop  is 
heard  no  more,  and  the  council  fire  is  no  more  lighted ;  for  the 
Indians,  like  shadows,  have  passed  silently  away  from  the  land.” 

And  then  for  over  one  hundred  and  sixty  years,  while  the 
commerce  with  the  Philippines  grew  apace,  and  while  the  activ¬ 
ities  of  Spain  found  occupation  at  home,  no  practical  measures 
were  taken  for  the  exploration,  colonization,  or  civilization  of 
California  by  her.  In  the  meantime,  the  far  flung  colonization 
schemes  of  England  had  occupied  the  Atlantic  Coast,  and  the 
rising  power  of  France  had  reached  the  Mississippi,  on  the  east, 
and  Bering  had  carried  the  Russian  eagles  across  the  strait,  on 
the  north.  The  more  immediate  danger  appeared  on  the  north¬ 
ern  horizon,  and  Spain  at  length  aroused  herself  to  understand 
that  if  the  Californias  were  to  be  retained,  they  must  be  occupied, 
settled,  and  civilized.  As  a  result  of  the  wisdom  of  her  councillors 
came  the  great  expedition  of  Joseph  Galvez  to  New  Spain  —  Galvez 
the  guiding  hand  back  of  the  scheme  of  mission  and  presidio  and 
pueblo  that  has  shed  over  the  history  of  California  a  perfect  halo 
of  Spanish  glory,  —  Galvez,  one  name  California  must  never 
forget,  because  without  him,  or  without  some  one  in  his  place,  or 
without  the  continental  advices  that  created  his  mission,  there 
might  have  been  no  Anza,  no  Portola,  no  Jumpero  Serra.  Inci¬ 
dent  to  the  plan  of  occupation,  settlement,  and  civilization,  was 
soon  again  developed  the  supreme  practical  necessity  of  finding  a 
harbor.  The  military  and  civil  features  of  the  expedition  were 
entrusted  to  Gaspar  de  Portola,  and  the  religious  feature  to 
Jumpero  Serra,  Father-President  of  the  Franciscan  missions.  The 
San  Antonio  and  the  San  Carlos  constituted  the  naval  feature 
along  the  coast.  July  1,  1769,  marked  the  entrance  of  the  expe¬ 
dition  into  San  Diego.  On  July  16,  1769,  Father  Jumpero  Serra 
founded  the  Mission  of  San  Diego  de  Alcala.  I  have  not  the 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


95 


time  to  describe  the  march  of  Portola  and  its  heart-breaking  inci¬ 
dents,  nor  the  accidental  discovery  of  San  Francisco  Bay  from  the 
heights  above  Montara  by  some  of  the  force  under  his  command, 
about  November  2,  1769,  nor  the  naming  of  the  Bay  after  St. 
Francis  of  Assisi,  the  patron  of  the  Franciscan  order,  under  the 
promise  that  had  been  made  by  Portola  to  Father  Junfpero  Serra, 
nor  the  first  entrance  by  any  vessel  into  San  Francisco  Bay, 
when  six  years  later,  the  packet-boat  San  Carlos,  under  the  com¬ 
mand  of  Lieutenant  Juan  Manuel  de  Ayala,  came  through  the 
Gate,  on  August  5,  1775,  and  cast  anchor  at  half  past  ten  in  the 
evening,  off  what  is  now  Sausalito.  Neither  have  I  the  time  to 
sketch  the  wonderful  march  of  Juan  Bautista  de  Anza  from 
Sonora  to  the  Bay  that  had  been  discovered,  when  he  founded  the 
Presidio  of  San  Francisco  on  the  Feast  of  the  Stigmata  of  St. 
Francis  of  Assisi,  September  17,  1776,  nor  the  opening  of 
Mission  Dolores,  postponed  until  the  Feast  of  St.  Francis,  October 
4,  of  the  same  year.  That  march  was  the  Anabasis  of  California. 
Nothing  in  Xenophon’s  recital  of  the  March  of  the  Ten  Thousand 
to  the  sea  equals  it.  And  it  gives  me  a  peculiar  pleasure  to  give 
public  recognition  of  the  great  service  performed  by  Zoeth  S. 
Eldredge,  sitting  upon  the  platform  this  evening,  for  the  splendid 
work  in  his  History  of  California,  in  five  volumes,  which  has 
just  come  off  the  press,  for  his  service  in  giving  this  brave  and 
patient  military  leader  his  proper  place  in  the  perspective  of  the 
Spanish  history  of  California. 

Four  presidios  were  established,  at  Monterey,  San  Francisco, 
San  Diego,  and  Santa  Barbara,  respectively.  Three  pueblos 
were  founded,  or  attempted  to  be  founded,  at  San  Jose  de  Guada¬ 
lupe,  Nuestra  Senora  la  Reina  de  Los  Angeles  (Our  Lady  the 
Queen  of  the  Angels),  and  Branciforte,  the  present  Santa  Cruz. 
Twenty-one  missions  were  founded,  about  a  day’s  journey  apart, 
stretching  from  San  Diego  de  Alcala  on  the  south  to  San  Fran¬ 
cisco  de  Solano  on  the  north.  What  will  ever  stand  out  on  the 
horizon  of  this  period  of  California’s  history  is  not  the  story  of  its 
presidios  with  their  incidents  of  the  life  of  the  military  barracks 
and  the  occasional  skirmish  between  wilful  soldier  and  watchful 
padre,  nor  the  story  of  its  pueblos  with  their  combination  between 
a  kind  of  homestead  law  and  a  sort  of  a  city  charter,  but  the 


96 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


attempt  to  civilize,  to  uplift  humanity  —  the  battle  under  the 
standard  of  the  cross  to  save  the  souls  of  men  —  by  the  missions 
of  the  Franciscan  padres. 

“The  official  purpose  here,  as  in  older  mission  undertakings,” 
says  Dr.  Josiah  Royce,  “was  a  union  of  physical  and  spiritual 
conquest,  —  soldiers  under  a  military  governor  cooperating  to 
this  end  with  missionaries  and  mission  establishments.  The 
natives  were  to  be  overcome  by  arms  in  so  far  as  they  might  resist 
the  conquerors,  were  to  be  attracted  to  the  missions  by  peace¬ 
able  measure  in  so  far  as  might  prove  possible,  were  to  be  instructed 
in  the  faith,  and  were  to  be  kept  for  the  present  under  the  paternal 
rule  of  the  clergy,  until  such  time  as  they  might  be  ready  for  a 
free  life  as  Christian  subjects.  Meanwhile,  Spanish  colonists  were 
to  be  brought  to  the  new  land  as  circumstances  might  determine, 
and  to  these,  allotments  of  land  were  to  be  made.  No  grants  of 
lands  in  a  legal  sense  were  made  or  promised  to  the  mission  estab¬ 
lishments  whose  position  was  to  be  merely  that  of  spiritual  insti¬ 
tutions,  intrusted  with  the  education  of  neophytes,  and  with  the 
care  of  the  property  that  should  be  given  or  hereafter  produced 
for  the  purpose.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  government  tended 
to  regard  the  missions  as  purely  subsidiary  to  its  purpose,  the 
outgoing  missionaries  to  this  strange  land  were  so  much  the  more 
certain  to  be  quite  uncorrupted  by  worldly  ambitions,  by  a  hope 
of  acquiring  wealth,  or  by  any  intention  to  found  a  powerful  eccle¬ 
siastical  government  in  the  new  colony.  They  went  to  save 
souls,  and  their  motive  was  as  single  as  it  was  worthy  of  rever¬ 
ence.  In  the  sequel,  the  more  successful  missions  of  Upper  Cali¬ 
fornia  became,  for  a  time,  very  wealthy;  but  this  was  only  by 
virtue  of  the  gifts  of  nature  and  of  the  devoted  labors  of  the 
padres.” 

Speaking  of  these  upon  another  occasion,  I  said  :  “  Such  a  scheme 
of  human  effort  is  so  unique  and  so  in  contrast  to  much  that 
obtains  to-day  that  it  seems  like  a  narrative  from  another  world. 
Fortunately,  the  annals  of  these  missions,  which  ultimately  ex¬ 
tended  from  San  Diego  to  beyond  Sonoma,  stepping-stones  of 
civilization  on  this  coast,  are  complete,  and  their  simple  disin¬ 
terestedness  and  directness  sound  like  a  tale  from  Arcady.  They 
were  signally  successful  because  those  who  conducted  them  were 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


97 


true  to  the  trusteeship  of  their  lives.  They  cannot  be  held  re¬ 
sponsible  if  they  were  unable  in  a  single  generation  to  eradicate 
in  the  Indian  the  ingrained  heredity  of  shiftlessness  of  all  the 
generations  that  had  gone  before.  It  is  a  source  of  high  satis¬ 
faction  that  there  was  on  the  part  of  the  'padres  no  record  of 
overreaching  the  simple  natives,  no  failure  to  respect  what  rights 
they  claimed,  no  carnage  and  bloodshed,  that  have  so  often  at¬ 
tended  expeditions  set  nominally  for  civilization,  but  really  for 
conquest.  Here  at  least  was  one  record  of  missionary  endeavor 
that  came  to  full  fruition  and  flower,  and  knew  no  fear  or  despair, 
until  it  attracted  the  attention  of  the  ruthless  rapacity  and  greed 
of  the  Mexican  governmental  authority  crouching  behind  the 
project  of  secularization.  The  enforced  withdrawal  of  the  pater¬ 
nal  hand  before  the  Indian  had  learned  to  stand  and  walk  alone, 
coupled  in  some  sections  with  the  dread  scourge  of  pestilential 
epidemic,  wrought  dispersion,  decimation,  and  destruction.  If, 
however,  the  teeming  'acres  are  now  otherwise  tilled,  and  if  the 
herds  of  cattle  have  passed  away  and  the  communal  life  is  gone 
forever,  the  record  of  what  was  accomplished  in  those  pastoral 
days  has  linked  the  name  of  California  with  a  new  and  imperish¬ 
able  architecture,  and  has  immortalized  the  name  of  Junfpero 
Serra.  The  pathetic  ruin  at  Carmel  is  a  shattered  monument 
above  a  grave  that  will  become  a  world’s  shrine  of  pilgrimage  in 
honor  of  one  of  humanity’s  heroes.  The  patient  soul  that  here 
laid  down  its  burden  will  not  be  forgotten.  The  memory  of  the 
brave  heart  that  was  here  consumed  with  love  for  mankind  will 
live  through  the  ages.  And,  in  a  sense,  the  work  of  these  missions 
is  not  dead  —  their  very  ruins  still  preach  the  lesson  of  service 
and  of  sacrifice.  As  the  fishermen  off  the  coast  of  Brittany  tell 
the  legend  that  at  the  evening  hour,  as  their  boats  pass  over  the 
vanished  Atlantis,  they  can  still  hear  the  sounds  of  its  activity 
at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  so  every  Californian  as  he  turns  the 
pages  of  the  early  history  of  his  State  feels  at  times  that  he  can 
hear  the  echo  of  the  Angelus  bells  of  the  missions,  and  amid  the 
din  of  the  money-madness  of  these  later  days  can  find  a  response 
in  ‘the  better  angels  of  his  nature.’” 

The  record  of  this  spiritual  battle  is  part  of  our  tradition. 
It  is  inextricably  interwoven  with  the  history  of  our  common- 


98 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


wealth.  It  has  been  seen  that  it  was  linked  up  with  the  plans  of 
Galvez,  and  not  with  the  plans  of  Cortes.  The  latter’s  prime 
object  was  the  discovery  of  gold,  and  it  is  another  of  the  ironies 
of  California’s  history  that  those  who  had  hunted  for  the  gold 
did  not  discover  it,  and  that  when  it  was  finally  discovered,  just 
as  in  the  case  of  the  harbor,  it  was  found  by  accident.  And  it  is  a 
probability  not  always  apprehended  that  had  gold  been  discovered 
in  the  days  of  Spain’s  ascendency,  the  country  would  have  been 
colonized  by  her  as  effectively  as  Peru  and  Mexico,  and  that  while 
it  would  have  been  ultimately  lost  to  her  politically,  just  as  they 
were,  its  destinies  might  never  have  been  in  the  hands  of  Ameri¬ 
cans.  Not  simply  the  discovery  of  gold,  then,  but  the  date  of  its 
discovery,  was  what  settled  the  destiny  of  California.  Unauthen¬ 
ticated  rumors  of  the  existence  of  gold  had  long  been  bruited 
about.  The  first  specific  intimation  was  the  unimportant  dis¬ 
covery  near  San  Fernando  in  1842.  Thomas  O.  Larkin,  the 
consul  of  the  United  States  government,  had  for  some  time 
been  secretly  sending  to  Washington  from  Monterey  his  impres¬ 
sions  of  the  great  wealth  of  the  country  and  his  warnings  against 
possible  observance  by  other  powers.  Knowing  intimately  the 
desires  of  the  government,  he  lost  no  opportunity  to  whet  its 
appetite.  The  Mexican  War  was  impending.  On  the  4th  of 
May,  1846,  in  an  official  letter  to  James  Buchanan,  then  Secretary 
of  State,  Larkin  boldly  wrote  as  follows :  “There  is  no  doubt  but 
that  gold,  quicksilver,  lead,  sulphur,  and  coal  mines  are  to  be 
found  all  over  California,  and  it  is  equally  doubtful  whether, 
under  their  present  owners,  they  will  be  worked.”  Suggestion 
could  hardly  be  broader.  Sixty-four  days  later,  by  one  of  these 
queer  coincidences  of  history,  on  the  7th  of  July,  1846,  Commo¬ 
dore  Sloat  raised  the  American  flag  at  Monterey,  and  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  the  Spanish,  or  even  for  the  Mexicans,  to  discover 
gold  in  California,  had  passed  forever. 

James  W.  Marshall  made  the  discovery  of  gold  in  the  race 
of  a  small  mill  at  Coloma  in  the  latter  part  of  January,  1848. 
Thereupon  took  place  an  incident  of  history  which  demon¬ 
strated  that  Jason  and  his  companions  were  not  the  only  Argo¬ 
nauts  who  ever  made  a  voyage  to  unknown  shores  in  search  of  a 
golden  fleece.  The  first  news  of  the  discovery  almost  depopu- 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


99 


lated  the  towns  and  ranches  of  California  and  even  affected  the 
discipline  of  the  small  army  of  occupation.  The  first  winter 
brought  thousands  of  Oregonians,  Mexicans,  and  Chilenos.  The 
extraordinary  reports  that  reached  the  East  were  at  first  dis¬ 
believed,  but  when  the  private  letters  of  army  officers  and  men 
in  authority  were  published,  an  indescribable  gold  fever  took 
possession  of  the  nation  east  of  the  Alleghanies.  All  the  energetic 
and  daring,  all  the  physically  sound  of  all  ages,  seemed  bent  on 
reaching  the  new  El  Dorado.  “The  old  Gothic  instinct  of  inva¬ 
sion  seemed  to  survive  and  thrill  in  the  fiber  of  our  people,”  and 
the  camps  and  gulches  and  mines  of  California  witnessed  a  social 
and  political  phenomenon  unique  in  the  history  of  the  world  — 
the  spirit  and  romance  of  which  have  been  immortalized  in  the 
pages  of  Bret  Harte.  Before  1850  the  population  of  California 
had  risen  from  51,000,  as  it  was  in  1847,  to  100,000,  and  the 
average  weekly  increase  for  six  weeks  thereafter  was  50,000. 
The  novelty  of  this  situation  produced  in  many  minds  the  most 
marvellous  development.  “Every  glance  westward  was  met  by 
a  new  ray  of  intelligence ;  every  drawn  breath  of  western  air 
brought  inspiration ;  every  step  taken  was  over  an  unknown 
field ;  every  experiment,  every  thought,  every  aspiration  and 
act  were  original  and  individual.” 

No  more  interesting  phase  of  history  can  be  presented  than 
that  which  arose  in  California  immediately  after  Marshall’s 
discovery,  with  reference  to  titles  upon  the  public  domain.  The 
United  States  was  still  at  war  with  Mexico,  its  sovereignty  over 
the  soil  of  California  not  being  recognized  by  the  latter.  The 
treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  was  not  signed  until  February  2, 
and  the  ratified  copies  thereof  not  exchanged  at  Queretaro  till 
May  30,  1848.  On  the  12th  of  February,  1848,  ten  days  after 
the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  peace  and  about  three  weeks  after  the 
discovery  of  gold  at  Coloma,  Colonel  Mason  did  the  pioneers  a 
signal  service  by  issuing,  as  governor,  the  proclamation  concern¬ 
ing  the  mines,  which  at  the  time  was  taken  as  a  finality  and  cer¬ 
tainty  as  to  the  status  of  mining  titles  in  their  international 
aspect.  “From  and  after  this  date,”  the  proclamation  reads, 
“the  Mexican  laws  and  customs  now  prevailing  in  California 
relative  to  the  denouncement  of  mines  are  hereby  abolished.” 


100 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Although  as  the  law  was  fourteen  years  afterwards  expounded 
by  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  the  act  was  unnecessary  as 
a  precautionary  measure,1  still  the  practical  result  of  the  timeli¬ 
ness  of  the  proclamation  was  to  prevent  attempts  to  found  pri¬ 
vate  titles  to  the  new  discovery  of  gold  on  any  customs  or  laws 
of  Mexico. 

Meantime,  California  was  governed  by  military  authority. 
Except  an  act  to  provide  for  the  deliveries  and  taking  of  mails 
at  certain  points  on  the  coast,  and  a  resolution  authorizing  the 
furnishing  of  arms  and  ammunition  to  certain  immigrants,  no 
federal  act  was  passed  with  reference  to  California  in  any  rela¬ 
tion  ;  in  no  act  of  Congress  was  California  even  mentioned  after 
its  annexation,  until  the  act  of  March  3,  1849,  extending  the 
revenue  laws  of  the  United  States  “over  the  territory  and  waters 
of  Upper  California,  and  to  create  certain  collection  districts 
therein.”  This  act  of  March  3,  1849,  did  not  even  create 
a  local  tribunal  for  its  enforcement,  providing  instead  that  the 
District  Court  of  Louisiana  and  the  Supreme  Court  of  Oregon 
should  be  courts  of  original  jurisdiction  to  take  cognizance  of  all 
violations  of  its  provisions.  Not  even  the  act  of  the  9th  of  Sep¬ 
tember,  1850,  admitting  California  into  the  Union,  extended  the 
general  laws  of  the  United  States  over  the  State  by  express  provi¬ 
sion.  Not  until  the  act  of  September  26,  1850,  establishing  a 
District  Court  in  the  State,  was  it  enacted  by  Congress  “that  all 
the  laws  of  the  United  States  which  are  not  locally  inapplicable 
shall  have  the  same  force  and  effect  within  the  said  State  of  Cali¬ 
fornia  as  elsewhere  in  the  United  States.” 

Though  no  general  federal  laws  were  extended  by  Congress 
over  the  later  acquisitions  from  Mexico  for  more  than  two  years 
after  the  end  of  the  war,  the  paramount  title  to  the  public  lands 
had  vested  in  the  federal  government  by  virtue  of  the  provisions 
of  the  treaty  of  peace ;  the  public  land  itself  had  become  part 
of  the  public  domain  of  the  United  States.  The  army  of  occu¬ 
pation,  however,  offered  no  opposition  to  the  invading  army  of 
prospectors.  The  miners  were,  in  1849,  twenty  years  ahead  of 
the  railroad  and  the  electric  telegraph.  The  telephone  had  not 
yet  been  invented.  In  the  parlance  of  the  times,  the  prospectors 
1  United  States  vs.  Castellero,  2  Black  (67  U.S.),  17-371. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


101 


“had  the  drop”  on  the  army.  In  Colonel  Mason’s  unique  report 
of  the  situation  that  confronted  him,  discretion  waited  upon 
valor.  “The  entire  gold  district,”  he  wrote  to  the  government 
at  Washington,  “with  few  exceptions  of  grants  made  some  years 
ago  by  the  Mexican  authorities,  is  on  land  belonging  to  the  United 
States.  It  was  a  matter  of  serious  reflection  with  me  how  I 
could  secure  to  the  government  certain  rents  or  fees  for  the  privi¬ 
lege  of  procuring  this  gold  ;  but  upon  considering  the  large  extent 
of  the  country,  the  character  of  the  people  engaged,  and  the  small 
scattered  force  at  my  command,  I  am  resolved  not  to  interfere, 
but  permit  all  to  work  freely.”  It  is  not  recorded  whether  the 
resolute  colonel  was  conscious  of  the  humor  of  his  resolution. 
This  early  suggestion  of  conservation  was,  under  the  circum¬ 
stances,  manifestly  academic. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  commenting  on  the 
singular  situation  in  which  Colonel  Mason  found  himself,  clearly 
and  forcefully  states  his  predicament.  “His  position ,”  says  that 
Court,  “was  unlike  anything  that  had  preceded  it  in  the  history  of 
our  country.  ...  It  was  not  without  its  difficulties,  both  as 
regards  the  principle  upon  which  he  should  act  and  the  actual 
state  of  affairs  in  California.  He  knew  that  the  Mexican  inhab¬ 
itants  of  it  had  been  remitted  by  the  treaty  of  peace  to  those 
municipal  laws  and  usages  which  prevailed  among  them  before  the 
territory  had  been  ceded  to  the  United  States,  but  that  a  state  of 
things  and  population  had  grown  up  during  the  war,  and  after 
the  treaty  of  peace,  which  made  some  other  authority  necessary 
to  maintain  the  rights  of  the  ceded  inhabitants  and  of  immigrants 
from  misrule  and  violence.  He  may  not  have  comprehended 
fully  the  principle  applicable  to  what  he  might  rightly  do  in  such 
a  case,  but  he  felt  rightly,  and  acted  accordingly.  He  determined, 
in  the  absence  of  all  instruction,  to  maintain  the  existing  govern¬ 
ment.  The  territory  had  been  ceded  as  a  conquest,  and  was 
to  be  preserved  and  governed  as  such  until  the  sovereignty  to 
which  it  had  passed  had  legislated  for  it.  That  sovereignty  was 
the  United  States,  under  the  Constitution,  by  which  power  had 
been  given  to  Congress  to  dispose  of  and  make  all  needful  rules 
and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other  property  belong¬ 
ing  to  the  United  States,  with  the  power  also  to  admit  new  States 


102 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


into  this  Union,  with  only  such  limitations  as  are  expressed  in  the 
section  in  which  this  power  is  given.  The  government,  of  which 
Colonel  Mason  was  the  executive,  had  its  origin  in  the  lawful 
exercise  of  a  belligerent  right  over  a  conquered  territory.  It  had 
been  instituted  during  the  war  by  the  command  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States.  It  was  the  government  when  the  territory 
was  ceded  as  a  conquest,  and  it  did  not  cease,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  or  as  a  necessary  consequence  of  the  restoration  of  peace. 
The  President  might  have  dissolved  it  by  withdrawing  the  army 
and  navy  officers  who  administered  it,  but  he  did  not  do  so. 
Congress  could  have  put  an  end  to  it,  but  that  was  not  done. 
The  right  inference  from  the  inaction  of  both  is,  that  it  was  meant 
to  be  continued  until  it  had  been  legislatively  changed.  No 
presumption  of  a  contrary  intention  can  be  made.  Whatever 
may  have  been  the  causes  of  delay,  it  must  be  presumed  that  the 
delay  was  consistent  with  the  true  policy  of  the  government.”  1 

This  guess,  being  the  last  guess,  must  now  be  taken  as  author¬ 
itative. 

The  prospectors  and  miners  were,  then,  in  the  start,  simply 
trespassers  upon  the  public  lands  as  against  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  with  no  laws  to  guide,  restrain,  or  protect  them, 
and  with  nothing  to  fear  from  the  military  authorities.  They 
were  equal  to  the  occasion.  The  instinct  of  organization  was  a 
part  of  their  heredity.  Professor  Macy,  in  a  treatise  issued  by 
Johns  Hopkins  University,  once  wrote:  “It  has  been  said  that  if 
three  Americans  meet  to  talk  over  an  item  of  business  the  first 
thing  they  do  is  to  organize.” 

“Finding  themselves  far  from  the  legal  traditions  and  restraints 
of  the  settled  East,”  says  the  report  of  the  Public  Land  Com¬ 
mission  of  1880,  “in  a  pathless  wilderness,  under  the  feverish 
excitement  of  an  industry  as  swift  and  full  of  chance  as  the  throw¬ 
ing  of  dice,  the  adventurers  of  1849  spontaneously  instituted 
neighborhood  or  district  codes  of  regulation,  which  were  simply 
meant  to  define  and  protect  a  brief  possessory  ownership.  The 
ravines  and  river  bars  which  held  the  placer  gold  were  valueless 
for  settlement  or  home  making,  but  were  splendid  stakes  to  hold 
for  a  few  short  seasons  and  gamble  with  nature  for  wealth  or  ruin. 

1  Cross  vs.  Harrison,  16  Howard  (57  U.S.),  164,  192. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


103 


“In  the  absence  of  state  and  federal  laws  competent  to  meet 
the  novel  industry,  and  with  the  inbred  respect  for  equitable  ad¬ 
justments  of  rights  between  man  and  man,  the  miners  sought  only 
to  secure  equitable  rights  and  protection  from  robbery  by  a  simple 
agreement  as  to  the  maximum  size  of  a  surface  claim,  trusting, 
with  a  well-founded  confidence,  that  no  machinery  was  necessary 
to  enforce  their  regulations  other  than  the  swift,  rough  blows  of 
public  opinion.  The  gold  seekers  were  not  long  in  realizing  that 
the  source  of  the  dust  which  had  worked  its  way  into  the  sands 
and  bars,  and  distributed  its  precious  particles  over  the  bed  rocks 
of  rivers,  was  derived  from  solid  quartz  veins,  which  were  thin 
sheets  of  mineral  material  inclosed  in  the  foundation  rocks  of  the 
country.  Still  in  advance  of  any  enactments  by  Legislature  or 
Congiess,  the  common  sense  of  the  miners,  which  had  proved 
strong  enough  to  govern  with  wisdom  the  ownership  of  placer 
mines,  rose  to  meet  the  question  of  lode  claims  and  sheet-like  veins 
of  quartz,  and  provided  that  a  claim  should  consist  of  a  certain 
horizontal  block  of  the  vein,  however  it  might  run,  but  extending 
indefinitely  downward,  with  a  strip  of  surface  on,  or  embracing 
the  vein’s  outcrop,  for  the  placing  of  necessary  machinery  and 
buildings.  Under  this  theory  the  lode  was  the  property,  and  the 
surface  became  a  mere  easement. 

“This  early  California  theory  of  a  mining  claim,  consisting  of 
a  certain  number  of  running  feet  of  vein,  with  a  strip  of  land 
covering  the  surface  length  of  the  claim,  is  the  obvious  foundation 
for  the  federal  legislation  and  present  system  of  public  disposition 
and  private  ownership  of  the  mineral  lands  west  of  the  Missouri 
River.  Contrasted  with  this  is  the  mode  of  disposition  of  mineral 
bearing  lands  east  of  the  Missouri  River,  where  the  common 
law  has  been  the  rule,  and  where  the  surface  tract  has  always 
carried  with  it  all  minerals  vertically  below  it. 

“The  great  coal,  copper,  lead,  and  zinc  wealth  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  has  all  passed  with  the  surface  titles,  and  there  can  be 
little  doubt  if  California  had  been  contiguous  to  the  eastern 
metallic  regions,  and  its  mineral  development  progressed  naturally 
with  the  advantage  of  home  making  settlements,  the  power  of 
common  law  precedent  would  have  governed  its  whole  mining 
history.  But  California  was  one  of  those  extraordinary  historic 


104 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


exceptions  that  defy  precedent  and  create  original  modes  of  life 
and  law.  And  since  the  developers  of  the  great  precious  metal 
mining  of  the  far  west  have  for  the  most  part  swarmed  out  of  the 
California  hive,  California  ideas  have  not  only  been  everywhere 
dominant  over  the  field  of  the  industry,  but  have  stemmed  the 
tide  of  federal  land  policy,  and  given  us  a  statute  book  with 
English  common  law  in  force  over  half  the  land  and  California 
common  law  ruling  in  the  other.” 

“The  discovery  of  gold  in  California,”  says  Justice  Field,  speak¬ 
ing  from  the  Supreme  Bench  of  the  United  States,  “  was  followed, 
as  is  well  known,  by  an  immense  immigration  into  the  State,  which 
increased  its  population  within  three  or  four  years  from  a  few 
thousand  to  several  hundred  thousand.  The  lands  in  which  the 
precious  metals  were  found  belonged  to  the  United  States,  and 
were  unsurveyed  and  not  open  by  law  to  occupation  and  settle¬ 
ment.  Little  was  known  of  them  further  than  that  they  were 
situated  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains.  Into  these  mountains 
the  emigrants  in  vast  numbers  penetrated,  occupying  the  ravines, 
gulches,  and  canyons  and  probing  the  earth  in  all  directions  for 
the  precious  metals.  Wherever  they  went  they  carried  with  them 
the  love  of  order  and  system  of  fair  dealing  which  are  the  promi¬ 
nent  characteristics  of  our  people.  In  every  district  which  they 
occupied  they  framed  certain  rules  for  their  government,  by  which 
the  extent  of  ground  they  could  severally  hold  for  mining  was 
designated,  their  possessory  right  to  such  ground  secured  and 
enforced,  and  contests  between  them  either  avoided  or  determined. 
These  rules  bore  a  marked  similarity,  varying  in  the  several  dis¬ 
tricts  only  according  to  the  extent  and  character  of  the  mines ; 
distinct  provision  being  made  for  different  kinds  of  mining,  such 
as  placer  mining,  quartz  mining,  and  mining  in  drifts  or  tunnels. 
They  all  recognized  discovery,  followed  by  appropriation,  as  the 
foundation  of  the  possessor’s  title,  and  development  by  working 
as  the  condition  of  its  retention.  And  they  were  so  framed  as  to 
secure  to  all  comers  within  practicable  limits  absolute  equality 
of  right  and  privilege  in  working  the  mines.  Nothing  but  such 
equality  would  have  been  tolerated  by  the  miners,  who  were 
emphatically  the  law-makers,  as  respects  mining  upon  the  public 
lands  in  the  State.  The  first  appropriator  was  everywhere  held 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


105 


to  have,  within  certain  well-defined  limits,  a  better  right  than 
others  to  the  claims  taken  up ;  and  in  all  controversies,  except 
as  against  the  government,  he  was  regarded  as  the  original  owner, 
from  whom  title  was  to  be  traced.  .  .  .  These  regulations  and 
customs  were  appealed  to  in  controversies  in  the  State  courts, 
and  received  their  sanction ;  and  properties  to  the  value  of  many 
millions  rested  upon  them.  For  eighteen  years,  from  1848  to 
1866,  the  regulations  and  customs  of  miners,  as  enforced  and 
moulded  by  the  courts  and  sanctioned  by  the  legislation  of  the 
State,  constituted  the  law  governing  property  in  mines  and  the 
water  on  the  public  mineral  lands.”  1 

I  have  spoken  of  the  era  of  the  Spanish  navigators,  of  the 
peaceful  civilization  of  the  missions,  of  the  strenuous  life  issuing 
in  the  adoption  of  the  mining  code.  Let  me  give  you  now  a 
most  characteristic  example  of  California’s  democratic  resource¬ 
fulness;  her  method  of  getting  into  the  Union.  But  two  other 
states  at  the  present  time  —  Nevada  and  Wyoming  —  celebrate 
the  anniversary  of  their  admission  into  the  Union.  The  reason 
for  California’s  celebration  of  that  anniversary  is  well  founded. 
You  will  recall  that  the  delay  incident  to  the  admission  of  Cali¬ 
fornia  into  the  Union  as  a  State  was  precipitated  by  the  tense 
struggle  then  raging  in  Congress  between  the  North  and  the 
South.  The  admission  of  Wisconsin  had  made  a  tie,  fifteen  free 
States  and  fifteen  slave  States.  The  destiny  of  the  nation  hung 
upon  the  result  of  that  issue,  and  when  California  finally  entered 
the  Union,  it  came  in  as  the  sixteenth  free  state,  forever  destroyed 
the  equilibrium  between  the  North  and  the  South,  and  made  the 
Civil  War  practically  inevitable.  The  debate  was  a  battle  of 
giants.  Webster,  Clay,  and  Calhoun  all  took  part  in  it.  Cal¬ 
houn  had  arisen  from  his  death-bed,  to  fight  the  admission  of 
California,  and,  upon  reaching  his  seat  in  the  Senate,  found  him¬ 
self  so  overcome  with  weakness  and  pain  that  he  had  Mason  of 
Virginia  read  the  speech  he  had  prepared  in  writing.  Webster 
atoned  for  his  hostility  to  the  Pacific  Coast  before  the  Mexican 
War  by  answering  Calhoun.  “I  do  not  hesitate  to  avow  in  the 
presence  of  the  living  God  that  if  you  seek  to  drive  us  from  Cal¬ 
ifornia  ...  I  am  for  disunion,”  declared  Robert  Toombs,  of 
1  Jennison  vs.  Kirk,  98  U.S.,  453. 


106 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Georgia,  to  an  applauding  House.  “The  unity  of  our  empire 
hangs  upon  the  decision  of  this  day,”  answered  Seward  in  the 
Senate.  National  history  was  being  made  with  a  vengeance, 
and  California  was  the  theme.  The  contest  was  an  inspiring 
one,  and  a  reading  of  the  Congressional  Record  covering  the 
period  makes,  a  Californian’s  blood  tingle  with  the  intensity  of  it 
all. 

The  struggle  had  been  so  prolonged,  however,  that  the  people 
upon  this  coast,  far  removed  from  the  scene  of  it,  and  feeling  more 
than  all  else  that  they  were  entitled  to  be  protected  by  a  system 
of  laws,  grew  impatient.  They  finally  proceeded  in  a  charac¬ 
teristically  Californian  way.  They  met  in  legislative  assembly 
and  proclaimed  :  “  It  is  the  duty  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States  to  give  us  laws ;  and  when  that  duty  is  not  performed  one 
of  the  clearest  rights  we  have  left  is  to  govern  ourselves.” 

The  first  provisional  government  meeting  was  held  in  the 
pueblo  of  San  Jose,  December  11,  1848,  and  unanimously  recom¬ 
mended  that  a  general  convention  be  held  at  the  pueblo  of  San 
Jose  on  the  second  Monday  of  January  following.  At  San  Fran¬ 
cisco  a  similar  provisional  meeting  was  held,  though  the  date  of 
the  proposed  convention  was  fixed  for  the  first  Monday  in  March, 
1849,  and  afterwards  changed  to  the  first  Monday  in  August. 

The  various  assemblies  which  had  placed  other  conditions  and 
fixed  other  dates  and  places  for  the  holding  of  the  same,  gave 
way,  and  a  general  election  was  finally  held  under  the  provisions 
of  a  proclamation  issued  by  General  Bennet  Riley,  the  United 
States  General  commanding,  a  proclamation  for  the  issuance  of 
which  there  was  no  legislative  warrant  whatever.  While  the 
Legislative  Assembly  of  San  Francisco  recognized  his  military 
authority,  in  which  capacity  he  was  not  formidable,  it  did  not 
recognize  his  civil  power.  General  Riley,  however,  with  that 
rare  diplomacy  which  seems  to  have  attached  to  all  federal  mili¬ 
tary  people  when  acting  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  realizing  that  any 
organized  government  that  proceeded  from  an  orderly  concourse 
of  the  people  was  preferable  to  the  exasperating  condition  in 
which  the  community  was  left  to  face  its  increasing  problem  under 
Congressional  inaction,  himself  issued  the  proclamation  for  a 
general  convention,  which  is  itself  a  gem.  The  delegates  met  in 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


107 


Monterey,  at  Colton  Hall,  on  the  1st  of  September,  and  organized 
on  the  3d  of  September,  1849. 

The  convention  was  one  of  the  keenest  and  most  intelligent 
that  ever  assembled  for  the  fulfillment  of  a  legislative  responsi¬ 
bility.  Six  of  the  delegates  had  resided  in  California  less  than 
six  months,  while  only  twenty-one,  exclusive  of  the  seven  native 
Californians,  had  resided  here  for  more  than  three  years.  The 
average  age  of  all  the  delegates  was  36  years.  The  debates  of 
that  convention  should  be  familiar  to  every  citizen  of  this  State. 
No  Californian  should  be  unfamiliar  with  the  great  debate  on 
what  was  to  constitute  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  State  of  Cali¬ 
fornia,  a  debate  accompanied  by  an  intensity  of  feeling  which  in 
the  end  almost  wrecked  the  convention.  The  dramatic  scenes 
wrought  by  the  patriotism  that  saved  the  wrecking  of  the  con¬ 
vention  stand  out  in  bold  relief.  The  constitution  adopted  by 
this  convention  was  ratified  November  13,  1849,  and  at  the  same 
election  an  entire  State  and  legislative  ticket,  with  two  represent¬ 
atives  to  Congress,  was  chosen.  The  senators  and  assembly- 
men-elect  met  in  San  Jose  on  December  15,  1849.  On  December 
20,  1849,  the  State  government  of  California  was  established  and 
Governor  Peter  H.  Burnett  was  inaugurated  as  the  first  Governor 
of  the  State  of  California,  and  soon  thereafter  William  M.  Gwin 
and  John  C.  Fremont  were  elected  the  first  United  States  Senators 
from  the  State  of  California.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  there 
had  never  been  any  territorial  form  of  government,  notwithstand¬ 
ing  the  fact  that  California  had  not  yet  been  admitted  into  the 
Union,  these  men  were  all  elected  as  members  of  the  State  govern¬ 
ment,  and  the  United  States  Senators  and  members  of  Congress 
started  for  Washington  to  help  get  the  State  admitted. 

Immediately  upon  the  inauguration  of  Governor  Burnett,  Gen¬ 
eral  Riley  issued  this  remarkable  proclamation : 

“To  the  People  of  California:  A  new  executive  having  been 
elected  and  installed  into  office,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions 
of  the  constitution  of  the  State,  the  undersigned  hereby  resigns 
his  powers  as  Governor  of  California.  In  thus  dissolving  his 
official  connection  with  the  people  of  this  country  he  would  tender 
to  them  his  heartfelt  thanks  for  their  many  kind  attentions  and 
for  the  uniform  support  which  they  have  given  to  the  measures 


108 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


of  his  administration.  The  principal  object  of  all  his  wishes  is 
now  accomplished  —  the  people  have  a  government  of  their 
own  choice,  and  one  which,  under  the  favor  of  Divine  Providence, 
will  secure  their  own  prosperity  and  happiness  and  the  permanent 
welfare  of  the  new  State  ” 

No  matter  what  the  legal  objections  to  this  course  might  be, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Congress  had  as  yet  passed  no  bill 
for  the  admission  of  California  as  a  State  into  the  Union,  and 
might  never  pass  one,  California  broke  all  precedents  by  declaring 
itself  a  State,  and  a  free  State  at  that,  and  sent  its  representatives 
to  Washington  to  hurry  up  the  passage  of  the  bill  which  should 
admit  it  into  the  Union. 

The  brilliant  audacity  of  California’s  method  of  admission  into 
the  Union  stands  without  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  nation. 
Outside  of  the  original  thirteen  colonies  she  was  the  only  State 
carved  out  of  the  national  domain  which  was  admitted  into  the 
Union  without  a  previous  enabling  act  or  territorial  apprentice¬ 
ship.  What  was  called  the  State  of  Deseret  tried  it  and  failed, 
and  the  annexation  of  Texas  was  the  annexation  of  a  foreign  re¬ 
public.  The  so-called  State  of  Transylvania  and  State  of  Frank¬ 
lin  had  been  attempted  secessions  of  western  counties  of  the  origi¬ 
nal  States  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  respectively,  and  their 
abortive  attempts  at  admission  were  addressed  to  the  Continental 
Congress  and  not  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  With  full 
right,  then,  did  California,  by  express  resolution  spreading  the 
explanation  upon  the  minutes  of  her  constitutional  convention,1 
avowedly  place  upon  her  great  seal  her  Minerva  —  her  “  robed 
goddess-in-arms,”  —  not  as  the  goddess  of  wisdom,  not  as  the 
goddess  of  war,  but  to  signify  that  as  Minerva  was  not  born  but 
sprang  full-armed  from  the  brain  of  Jupiter,  so  California,  without 
territorial  childhood,  sprang  full-grown  into  the  sisterhood  of 
states. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  California  was  not  admitted  into 
the  Union  till  September  9,  1850,  and  yet  that  the  first  session  of 
its  State  legislature  had  met,  legislated,  and  adjourned  by  April  22, 
1850,  some  appreciation  may  be  had  of  the  speed  limit  —  if  there 

1  J.  Rosa  Browne,  Debates  in  the  Convention  of  California  on  the  Formation  of  the 
Constitution  in  184-9,  pp.  304,  322,  323. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


109 


was  a  limit.  The  record  of  the  naive  self-sufficiency  of  that 
legislature  is  little  short  of  amazing. 

On  February  9,  1850,  seven  months  before  the  admission  of  the 
State,  it  coolly  passed  the  following  resolution:  “That  the  Gov¬ 
ernor  be,  and  he  is  hereby  authorized  and  requested,  to  cause  to 
be  procured,  and  prepared  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the  Wash¬ 
ington  Monument  Association,  a  block  of  California  marble,  cin¬ 
nabar,  gold  quartz,  or  granite  of  suitable  dimensions,  with  the 
word  ‘  California’  chiselled  on  its  face,  and  that  he  cause  the  same 
to  be  forwarded  to  the  Managers  of  the  Washington  Monument 
Association  in  the  City  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia, 
to  constitute  a  portion  of  the  monument  now  being  erected  in  that 
city  to  the  memory  of  George  Washington.”  California  did  not 
intend  to  be  absent  from  any  feast,  or  left  out  of  any  procession 
—  not  if  she  knew  it.  And  the  resolution  was  obeyed  —  the 
stone  was  cut  from  a  marble-bed  on  a  ranch  just  outside  Placer- 
ville,  and  is  now  in  the  monument ! 

On  April  13,  1850,  nearly  five  months  before  California  was 
admitted  into  the  Union,  that  legislature  gaily  passed  an  act 
consisting  of  this  provision :  “  The  Common  law  of  England,  so 
far  as  it  is  not  repugnant  to  or  inconsistent  with  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States,  or  the  constitution  or  laws  of  the  State  of 
California,  shall  be  the  rule  of  the  decision  in  all  the  Courts  of  the 
State.” 

Among  other  things,  three  joint  resolutions  were  passed,  one 
demanding  of  the  Federal  Government  not  only  a  change  in  the 
manner  of  transporting  the  mails,  but  also  in  the  manner  of  their 
distribution  at  San  Francisco,  a  second  urging  upon  Congress  the 
importance  of  authorizing,  as  soon  as  practicable,  the  construction 
of  a  national  railroad  from  the  Pacific  Ocean  to  the  Mississippi 
River,  —  not  from  the  Mississippi  River  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  but 
from  the  Pacific  Ocean  to  the  Mississippi  River,  —  and  a  third 
urging  appropriate  grants  of  land  by  the  general  government  to 
each  commissioned  officer  of  the  Army  of  the  United  States  who 
faithfully  and  honorably  served  out  a  complete  term  of  service  in 
the  war  with  Mexico.  Each  of  the  last  two  resolutions,  with 
grim  determination,  and  without  a  suspicion  of  humor,  contained 
this  further  resolution :  “  That  His  Excellency,  the  Governor,  be 


no 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


requested  to  forward  to  each  of  our  Senators  and  Representatives 
in  Congress  a  certified  copy  of  this  joint  resolution.” 

These  resolutions  were  passed  five  months  before  the  State  was 
admitted  into  the  Union.  If  the  Senators  and  Representatives 
were  not  yet  actually  “in  Congress,”  —  well,  they  were  at  least 
in  Washington  —  and  busy.  The  desire  to  be  admitted  into  the 
Union  had  developed  into  a  yearning  to  be  considered  a  part  of 
the  Union,  had  ripened  into  a  conviction  that  the  State  was, 
potentially  at  least,  actually  a  part  of  the  Union,  a  yearning  and 
a  conviction  that  became  almost  pathetic  in  their  intensity. 
The  legislature  adjourned,  and  for  nearly  five  months  the  popu¬ 
lation  of  San  Francisco  assembled  on  the  Plaza  on  the  arrival 
of  every  Panama  steamer,  waiting  —  waiting  —  waiting  for  the 
answer,  which  when  it  did  come  (in  October,  1850)  was  celebrated 
with  an  abandon  of  joy  that  has  never  been  equalled  on  any  suc¬ 
ceeding  Ninth  of  September. 

Californians  are  recreant  to  their  heritage  when  they  are  igno¬ 
rant  of  the  lives  and  experiences  of  those  who  preceded  them  on 
this  coast.  This  history  is  part  of  the  history  of  the  nation. 
The  record  of  the  achievement  of  the  empire-builders  of  this  coast 
is  one  that  inspires  civic  pride  and  a  reverence  for  their  memories. 
Why  should  the  story  remain  practically  unknown  ?  Why  should 
every  little  unimportant  detail  of  the  petty  incidents  of  Queen 
Anne’s  War,  and  King  Philip’s  War,  and  Braddock’s  campaign 
be  crammed  into  the  heads  of  children  who  until  lately  never 
heard  the  name  of  Portola  ?  The  beautiful  story  of  Paul  Revere’s 
ride  is  known  to  every  one,  but  how  many  know  the  story  of  the 
invincible  determination  in  the  building  of  Ugarte’s  ship?  Wil¬ 
liam  Penn’s  honest  treatment  of  the  Indians  is  a  household  word 
to  people  who  never  knew  of  the  existence  of  Galvez  or  Jumpero 
Serra.  The  story  of  the  hardships  of  the  New  England  pilgrims 
in  the  first  winter  on  the  “stern  and  rock-bound  coast”  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts,  is  not  more  pitiful  than  that  of  the  fate  of  the  immi¬ 
grants  at  Donner  Lake.  Longfellow’s  “Courtship  of  Miles  Stand- 
ish  and  Priscilla”  is  found  in  every  book  of  school  declamations, 
but  Bret  Harte’s  poem  of  the  tragic  love-story  of  Rezanov  and 
Concha  Arguello  only  in  complete  editions  of  his  works.  Why 
herald  the  ridiculous  attempt  of  Rhode  Island  to  keep  out  of  the 


THE  HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


111 


Union,  and  not  acclaim  the  splendid  effort  of  California  to  break 
into  it  ?  Why  exhaust  our  enthusiasm  on  the  charming  anecdotage 
of  Chauncey  Depew  and  ignore  the  flaming  eloquence  of  Thomas 
Starr  King  and  E.  D.  Baker?  How  many  have  ever  read  the 
proclamation  issued  by  Commodore  Sloat  to  his  marines  when  he 
sent  the  landing-party  ashore  to  hoist  the  colors  at  Monterey,  — 
a  proclamation  that  has  all  the  dignity  of  a  ritual,  and  should  be 
learned  by  heart  as  a  part  of  his  education  by  every  school-boy 
in  California? 

Let  me  not  be  misunderstood.  I  would  detract  nothing  from 
the  glory  of  other  sections  of  the  country.  I  would  minimize 
nothing  of  any  State’s  accomplishment.  Some  of  them  have  a 
record  that  is  almost  a  synonym  for  patriotism.  Their  tradition 
is  our  inheritance ;  their  achievement  is  our  gain.  Wisconsin 
cannot  become  a  veritable  workshop  of  social  and  economic  ex¬ 
periment  without  the  nation  being  the  beneficiary.  New  England 
does  not  enrich  her  own  literature  without  shedding  luster  on  the 
literature  of  the  nation.  They  and  theirs  belong  also  to  us  and 
to  ours.  Least  of  all  do  I  forget  the  old  Bay  State  and  her  high 
tradition  —  State  of  Hancock  and  Warren,  of  John  Quincy  Adams 
and  Webster,  of  Sumner  and  Phillips  and  Garrison  and  John  A. 
Andrew,  of  Longfellow  and  Lowell  and  Whittier  and  Holmes. 
Her  hopes  are  my  hopes ;  her  fears  are  my  fears.  May  my  heart 
cease  its  beating,  if,  in  any  presence  or  any  under  pressure,  it  fail 
to  respond  an  Amen  to  the  Puritan’s  prayer,  “God  save  the 
commonwealth  of  Massachusetts.” 

But,  Gentlemen  of  the  American  Historical  Association,  if  they 
belong  to  us,  we  also  belong  to  them.  If  their  traditions  belong 
to  us,  so  also  our  tradition  belongs  to  them.  We  simply  ask  that 
California  be  given  her  proper  proportionate  place  in  the  history 
of  the  country.  California  simply  wants  her  “place  in  the  sun.” 

Possibly  we  have  been  ourselves  somewhat  to  blame.  Possibly 
in  the  whirl  of  introducing  the  evidence  during  the  trial  we  have 
been  somewhat  neglectful  of  the  state  of  the  record.  When  I 
find  myself  among  historians  I  am  somewhat  puzzled  to  reflect 
that  when  they  read  papers  at  great  historical  congresses,  they 
sometimes  omit  the  objective  facts  of  history,  and  the  more 
eminent  of  them  are  sometimes  tempted  to  philosophize.  When 


112 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


they  are  through  philosophizing,  they  prophesy.  May  I  too  be 
permitted,  for  a  moment,  to  forget  that  this  is  an  historical  con¬ 
gress?  May  I,  too,  be  permitted  to  philosophize  a  little,  —  if 
not  to  prophesy?  Wendell  Phillips  used  to  say  —  and  he  loved 
to  rub  it  in  —  “Men  make  history;  scholars  write  it!”  Here 
in  California  live  a  people,  and  the  descendants  of  a  people,  drawn 
from  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Here  is  the  melting-pot  of  the  nations. 
It  is  a  people  keenly  alive  to  the  problems  of  the  present.  Its 
environment  has  thrown  it  back  upon  itself  and  made  it  a  resource¬ 
ful  people.  It  is  a  virile  people,  confident  and  unafraid.  It  is 
the  most  democratic  people  in  the  world  —  even  the  women 
vote.  It  employs  the  latest  governmental  methods  and  sanctions 
without  having  any  longer  even  a  consciousness  of  their  novelty. 
The  surmounting  of  physical  obstruction  and  the  perfecting  of 
mechanical  invention  is  the  record  of  its  daily  experience.  It  is 
a  young  people  —  with  its  child-heart  intact,  with  all  youth’s 
contempt  for  obstacles.  It  can  with  incredible  courage  rebuild  a 
metropolis  from  its  ashes,  and  in  the  celebration  of  the  uniting  of 
the  oceans  it  can  evoke  the  admiration  of  the  world  with  two 
expositions  instead  of  one,  each  an  enduring  lesson  of  challenging 
beauty. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that,  when  we  stop  to  look  backward  or  to 
write  our  record,  we  are  distracted  by  the  scenes  and  problems  of 
the  everlasting  present :  governmental  problems,  social  problems, 
industrial  problems,  international  problems,  world  problems? 
We  see  the  canal  finished  before  our  eyes.  The  seat  of  empire 
begins  to  shift  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  In  this  very 
congress,  whose  sessions  are  now  closing,  you  have  been  given  the 
historical  background  and  framework  of  the  new  arena.  The 
prophecy  of  William  Henry  Seward  is  being  made  a  reality.  The 
vision  of  Alexander  von  Humboldt  is  coming  true.  We  cannot 
resist  the  call  of  the  blood.  Though  we  have  a  just  pride  in  our 
forbears  and  love  our  State’s  traditions,  and  wish  to  promote  and 
perpetuate  a  knowledge  of  them,  and  though  some  of  us  call  our¬ 
selves  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West,  I  have  a  feeling  that  in 
intellect,  in  temperament,  in  environment,  and,  it  may  be,  in 
opportunity,  we  are  still  —  the  Pioneers. 


SESSION  OF  THE  PANAMA  PACIFIC  HISTORICAL 

CONGRESS 


Held  at  Native  Sons  Hall,  San  Francisco 
July  23,  1915 

The  convention  was  called  to  order  at  8 :  30  p.m.  by  the  Chair¬ 
man. 

The  Clmirvian  :  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  this  last  session  of  the 
Panama  Pacific  Historical  Congress  will  be  distinguished  by  the 
reading  of  a  paper  on  “The  American  Inter-Oceanic  Canal:  an 
Historical  Sketch  of  the  Canal  Idea,”  by  Mr.  Rudolph  J.  Taussig, 
Secretary  of  the  Panama  Pacific  International  Exposition. 

Mr.  Taussig  will  tell  the  story  of  the  idea  of  making  a  canal. 
It  is  practically  the  same  thing  as  the  history  of  the  idea  of  making 
the  Panama  Pacific  Canal,  which  opens  a  new  era  in  the  history 
of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

I  have  the  aid  on  the  platform  here  of  two  distinguished  dele¬ 
gates,  one  from  Spain  and  the  other  from  Japan.  During  his 
presence  at  the  Congress,  by  many  speeches  and  in  many  ways, 
Professor  Altamira  has  endeared  himself  to  those  who  are  responsible 
for  this  Historical  Congress.  Professor  N.  Murakami  has,  in  the 
excellent  paper  he  read  today  at  Palo  Alto,  shown  that  the  new 
land  of  Japan  is  as  interested  in  things  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  as  the 
old  land  of  Spain.  To  support  them  two  former  presidents  of 
the  American  Historical  Association,  Professor  Turner,  of  Harvard 
University,  and  Professor  Jameson  are  here  present.  A  little  later 
we  are  to  be  favored  by  another  former  president  of  the  American 
Historical  Association,  who,  while  he  has  written  history,  has  also 
made  it,  and  who  has  promised  to  be  present  shortly  to  tell  us  how 
he  made  the  Canal,  which  Mr.  Taussig  will  trace  from  its  original 
idea. 

I  present  to  you  Mr.  Rudolph  J.  Taussig. 

113 


i 


THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC  CANAL:  AN  HIS¬ 
TORICAL  SKETCH  OF  THE  CANAL  IDEA1 


Rudolph  J.  Taussig 

The  task  assigned  to  me  by  the  President  of  the  American 
Historical  Association  for  the  Panama  Pacific  Historical  Congress 
of  1915,  is  perhaps  the  only  one  which  might  possibly  lie  within 
the  power  of  one  who,  like  myself,  is  not  a  trained  historian.  There 
are  no  evidences  to  be  weighed  —  one  against  the  other  —  nor  is 
there  any  great  question  to  be  solved  concerning  the  reliability 
of  the  sources  of  information. 

The  materials  that  could  possibly  be  made  use  of  are  first, 
the  records  of  voyages  made  in  search  of  “the  secret  of  the  strait” 
which  would  permit  a  direct  passage  of  ships  from  Europe  to  far 
Cathay  by  sailing  westward,  and  second,  the  various  schemes 
advanced  for  making  such  an  artificial  strait  by  the  work  of  man 
in  default  of  a  natural  one  already  existing. 

I  must  however  ask  your  indulgence,  as  it  was  by  no  means 
easy  to  reduce  the  great  amount  of  available  material  to  the 
limits  of  a  short  paper. 

It  took  a  little  over  four  centuries  of  search,  of  diplomacy,  and 
of  work  to  present  the  world  with  the  completed  water-way  and 
only  the  merest  outline  of  its  historical  development  can  possibly 
be  attempted  here.  The  poet’s  dream  of  the  mingling  of  the 
waters  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  across  any  part  of  the  American 
continents  from  the  Straits  of  Magellan  to  the  Arctic  Ocean  must 
remain  a  dream  until  waters  run  uphill  and  cross  a  range  of  moun¬ 
tains  or  until  the  mountains  themselves  are  moved  away. 

1  Whatever  may  be  “  worth  while”  in  this  sketch  is  due  to  the  friendly  advice  of 
Professor  H.  Morse  Stephens,  the  kindly  assistance  of  Assistant  Curator  H.  I. 
Priestley  of  the  Bancroft  Library,  and  Assistant  Professor  Chas.  E.  Chapman,  of 
the  University  of  California,  and  the  courtesies  of  Librarian  Frank  B.  Graves  of 
the  Mechanics-Mercantile  Library  of  San  Francisco. 

114 


THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC  CANAL 


115 


A  small  water-way  between  the  oceans  was  established  within 
the  boundaries  of  the  Republic  of  Colombia  in  the  state  of  Choco, 
but  it  could  only  be  used  in  the  time  of  heavy  rains.  The  ravine 
of  the  Raspadura  unites  the  sources  of  the  River  San  Juan,  which 
flows  into  the  Pacific,  with  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  River 
Atrato,  which  flows  into  the  Atlantic.  In  1788  the  cure  of  the 
village  of  Novita  employed  his  parishioners,  who  were  mostly 
Indians  and  negroes,  to  dig  a  small  canal  in  this  ravine  by  means 
of  which,  when  the  rains  were  abundant,  canoes  loaded  with  cacao 
could  pass  from  ocean  to  ocean.  Humboldt  said  that  this  inter- 
oceanic  communication  was  unknown  to  the  Spaniards  in  Europe 
and  gave  the  distance  from  sea  to  sea  as  about  300  miles,  but 
it  was  certainly  known  to  them  in  the  first  decade  of  the  19th 
century.  Here  then  is  an  account  of  a  canal  without  locks,  dug 
between  the  headwaters  of  two  great  rivers  which  flow  in  opposite 
directions. 

Humboldt  stated  his  belief  that  he  was  the  first  to  mention  it 
in  Europe.  He  said  that  it  might  easily  be  enlarged  if  other 
available  streams  were  joined  to  it  and  that  feeding  trenches 
might  easily  be  established  in  a  country  like  Choco,  where  it 
rained  during  the  whole  year  and  where  thunder  was  heard  every 
day.  Continuing  he  said  “that  the  ministry  at  Madrid  never 
enjoined  the  Viceroy  of  New  Spain  to  fill  up  the  ravine  of  Ras¬ 
padura  or  to  punish  with  death  those  who  attempted  to  reestab¬ 
lish  a  canal  at  Choco,  as  has  been  asserted.” 

There  is  also  an  account  of  the  mingling  of  the  headwaters  of 
two  rivers  on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  during  the  heavy  winter 
rains,  which  is  perhaps  of  equal  importance  with  the  mingling  of 
the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  St.  Lawrence  rivers  during 
the  time  of  the  spring  freshets  —  poetically  true  but  of  no  prac¬ 
tical  value. 

The  publication  of  the  travels  of  Marco  Polo  at  the  end  of  the 
thirteenth  century  acquainted  Europe  with  the  port  of  Zaitun,  with 
the  name  of  the  Great  Khan,  with  the  country  of  Cathay,  and  with 
the  enormous  riches  of  the  Orient.  The  merchant  adventurers 
of  Venice  and  of  Genoa  were  eager  to  open  commercial  relations 
with  the  Far  East  and  overland  trade  routes  were  established,  — • 
long  in  distance  and  fraught  with  danger  to  person  and  property. 


116 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


A  shorter  way  to  the  Orient  was  a  dream  without  hope  of  realiza¬ 
tion  so  long  as  the  belief  prevailed  in  Europe  that  the  earth  was 
flat,  —  beginning  at  the  water’s  edge  of  the  fierce  Atlantic  and 
ending  at  the  sea  beyond  Cathay. 

According  to  an  account  which  has  lately  been  questioned,  a 
Florentine  astronomer,  Paolo  Toscanelli,  expressed  his  opinion  in 
a  letter  to  the  King  of  Portugal  that  the  earth  was  round,  and  in 
1474  sent  a  copy  of  the  letter  to  Christopher  Columbus.  Co¬ 
lumbus  had  come  to  the  same  conclusion,  namely,  that  by  sailing 
westward  he  would  reach  the  islands  and  mainland  of  Japan  and 
China,  nor  did  he  think  that  the  undertaking  would  be  so  difficult 
nor  the  voyage  so  long  as  some  supposed.  In  order  to  prove  his 
conclusion  and  to  present  Europe  with  a  solution  of  the  problem 
of  a  short  way  to  Cathay  and  its  enormous  wealth,  Columbus 
began  his  long  campaign  for  the  necessary  assistance.  He  was 
finally  fitted  out  by  the  monarchs  of  Castile  and  Aragon  for  a 
voyage  across  the  unknown  sea  to  India.  He  never  knew  that 
he  had  discovered  a  new  continent  and  could  not  understand  why 
he  could  get  no  information  concerning  the  Great  Khan  at  the 
city  of  “  Guesay,”  to  whom  he  carried  letters  from  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella.  While  preparing  for  his  fourth  and  last  voyage,  he  re¬ 
quested  permission  to  carry  with  him  one  or  two  men  versed  in 
the  Arabic  tongue,  and  the  letter  from  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 
dated  March  14,  1502,  granting  his  request,  provided  it  should 
not  detain  him  too  long,  is  of  record. 

In  writing  to  Spain  from  Jamaica,  on  July  7,  1503,  Columbus 
stated  that  he  was  within  seven  days’  journey  by  land  from  the 
province  of  Ciguare,  which  was  but  ten  days’  journey  from  the 
river  Ganges,  and  that  when  he  was  upon  the  coast  of  Veragua 
he  was  relatively  in  the  same  position  to  Ciguare  as  Tortosa  on 
the  Mediterranean  to  Fuente  on  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  or  as  Pisa  on 
the  Ligurian  sea  to  Venice  on  the  Adriatic,  indicating  in  this  way 
his  information  concerning  the  existence  of  another  sea.  No 
doubt  this  but  increased  his  eagerness  to  find  the  strait  which  would 
permit  him  to  reach  his  destination,  although  he  seems  to  have 
satisfied  himself  that  it  did  not  exist  anywhere  within  the  ter¬ 
ritory  which  he  himself  had  visited  thus  far,  that  is,  from  Cape 
Gracias  a  Dios  in  Nicaragua  to  the  Gulf  of  Paria  in  Venezuela. 


THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC  CANAL 


117 


It  was  ten  years  later  that  the  sea  of  which  Columbus  had  been 
told  was  first  seen  by  Europeans  when  Balboa  led  his  expedition 
across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  in  1513.  Balboa  had  also  heard 
of  this  great  sea  lying  south  of  his  city  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Anti- 
guedad  del  Darien  on  the  Gulf  of  Uraba,  and  had  been  warned  by 
his  friends  amongst  the  natives  of  the  great  difficulties  attending 
the  crossing  of  the  mountains,  and  the  necessity  of  a  large  force 
of  men  to  overcome  the  hostile  nations  which  would  bar  his 
progress.  But  the  lure  of  gold  and  pearls  permitted  no  obstacle 
to  stand  in  the  way  of  discovery  and  wealth.  Balboa  did  not  long 
enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  expedition,  for  he  was  executed  in  1517. 
With  the  founding  of  the  city  of  Panama  in  1519  even  the  city 
of  Santa  Maria,  to  which  he  had  devoted  himself  and  which  was 
the  last  vestige  of  the  early  schemes  of  colonization  of  Nicuesa 
and  of  Hojeda,  gradually  disappeared. 

Animated  by  news  of  the  voyages  and  discoveries  of  Columbus, 
John  Cabot  and  his  son  Sebastian  undertook  to  find  a  way  west¬ 
ward  to  where  the  spices  grew.  Judging  from  the  form  of  the 
sphere  that  the  voyage  would  be  shorter  if  they  sailed  in  a  north¬ 
westerly  direction  they  prevailed  upon  Henry  VI I  of  England  in 
1497  to  provide  them  with  two  vessels  for  their  purpose  of  dis¬ 
covery.  They  expected  to  find  Cathay,  and  from  there  turn 
toward  India.  They  reached  the  American  continent  and  sailed, 
perhaps,  as  far  north  as  56°  latitude  and  as  far  south  as  Florida. 
Failing  to  solve  the  secret  of  the  strait,  they  returned  to  England. 

The  persistence  with  which  this  secret  (of  the  strait)  was  now 
pursued  would  seem  remarkable  were  it  not  for  the  ignorance 
which  so  long  prevailed  concerning  the  geography  of  America. 
Even  as  late  as  1843  Gen.  J.  C.  Fremont  in  his  report  upon  the 
exploring  expedition  to  Oregon  and  North  California  speaks  of 
his  search  for  the  Buenaventura  River  “  which,”  he  says,  “  has 
had  a  place  in  so  many  maps,  and  countenanced  the  belief  of  the 
existence  of  a  great  river  flowing  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to 
the  Bay  of  San  Francisco.” 

In  1514  the  King  of  Spain  directed  Juan  Diaz  de  Solis,  who  was* 
sailing  for  the  new  world  under  the  King’s  orders,  to  find  out  if 
the  country  we  now  call  Central  America  were  not  an  island. 

In  1519  Magellan  sailed  from  Spain  in  search  of  the  shortest* 


118 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


way  to  the  Spice  Islands,  and  the  straits  that  bear  his  name  tell 
the  story  of  his  success.  He  was  the  only  one  who  did  find  a  way 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  without  sailing  around  Cape  Horn. 
This  however  was  not  particularly  satisfactory,  as  it  was  too  far 
south  and  the  navigation  stormy  and  difficult. 

■  In  1521  the  Emperor  Charles  V  acknowledged  the  services  of 
Francisco  de  Garay  for  having  attempted,  though  unsuccessfully, 
to  find  the  strait  and  three  years  later  Lucas  Vasquez  de  Ayllon 
was  directed  to  continue  the  search. 

‘  '  By  1525  it  was  generally  conceded  that  there  was  no  passage 

from  sea  to  sea  between  Florida  and  the  Gulf  of  Darien  (or  Uraba), 
and  more  attention  was  paid  to  the  latitudes  farther  north.  Este- 
van  Gomez  in  that  year  announced  his  ability  to  find  the  strait 
north  of  Florida.  He  returned  to  Spain  after  a  voyage  of  ten 
months,  naturally  without  success,  but  a  misunderstanding  of 
words  when  he  arrived  spread  the  report  over  Europe  that  the 
straits  had  been  found.  He  brought  some  Indian  prisoners  with 
him  who  were  to  be  sold  as  slaves,  and  due  to  a  confusion  of  the 
word  “esclavos”  (slaves)  with  “clavos”  (cloves)  the  news  went 
abroad  that  he  had  found  a  way  to  the  land  of  spices,  and  for  a 
time  considerable  credence  was  given  to  the  rumor. 

About  the  same  time  Pedrarias  Davila,  who  had  been  made 
governor  on  the  Isthmus  and  who  had  sent  expeditions  to  explore 
the  country  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lake  Nicaragua,  where  the 
city  of  Granada  was  founded  in  1523,  expressed  his  conviction 
that  there  must  be  some  connection  between  Lake  Nicaragua  and 
the  South  Sea,  only  three  leagues  away.  He  was  certain  that 
this  would  be  found,  and  the  passage  from  the  Atlantic  by  way  of 
the  San  Juan  River  completed. 

*  In  1527  Hernando  de  la  Serna  was  ordered  to  explore  the  Chagres 
River  which  flows  into  the  Atlantic  and  the  Rio  Grande  which 
flows  into  the  Pacific  not  far  from  the  city  of  Panama.  He  it 
was  who  reported  that  at  high  tide  the  waters  of  the  two  rivers 
mingled  and  could  be  navigated  with  small  boats  from  sea  to  sea. 

Cortes  after  his  conquest  of  Mexico  devoted  time  and  energy 
to  the  exploration  of  both  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  coasts,  en¬ 
deavoring  to  find  a  way  from  ocean  to  ocean.  He  sent  a  small 
fleet  up  the  Atlantic  coast  from  Florida  and  also  fitted  out  several 


THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC  CANAL 


119 


•  expeditions  on  the  Pacific  at  Tehuantepec.  The  latter  resulted 
in  the  discovery  and  exploration  of  the  Gulf  of  California. 

•  The  Emperor  Charles  V  in  1534  ordered  experts  to  examine 
the  land  lying  between  the  Chagres  River  and  the  South  Sea,  and 
to  report  upon  the  proper  means  to  connect  the  ocean  with  the 
river  at  its  head  of  navigation.  They  were  also  to  report  upon  the 
cost  of  its  accomplishment  in  time,  money,  and  labor.  Pascual 
Andajoya,  at  that  time  governor  of  the  province,  on  October  22 
replied  to  the  Emperor’s  orders  to  assist  in  this  work,  that  he 
would  do  so  in  the  following  spring  as  it  was  impossible  to  ac¬ 
complish  anything  during  the  winter.  At  the  same  time  he  asserted 
that  no  prince  no  matter  how  powerful  he  might  be  could  ac¬ 
complish  the  union  of  the  two  oceans  nor  provide  means  for  con¬ 
necting  the  ocean  with  the  river,  but  that  in  order  to  maintain  a 
road  between  Nombre  de  Dios  and  Panama  and  to  clear  the 
Chagres  River  to  the  head  of  navigation,  all  that  would  be  neces¬ 
sary  would  be  to  provide  him  with  fifty  negroes,  who  would  do  the 
work  and  maintain  the  road  at  but  little  cost. 

In  1542  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo  sailed  from  Navidad  and 
sighting  the  coast  of  Lower  California  on  July  2  explored  the 
coast  northward  and  entered  San  Diego  Bay.  Although  Cabrillo 
died  in  January  1543  the  voyage  of  discovery  was  continued,  the 
expedition  reaching  as  high  as  44°  N.  latitude.  Naturally  no 
strait  through  the  continent  was  found. 

Gomara,  the  Spanish  historian  whose  Historia  General  de  las 
Indias  first  appeared  at  Saragossa  in  1552-3,  wrote  that  the  voy¬ 
age  from  Spain  to  the  Moluccas  by  way  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan 
was  long  and  dangerous. 

Speaking  with  men  well  versed  in  the  affairs  of  the  Indies  he  had 
heard  of  a  good  site  for  a  canal,  the  completion  of  which  though 
costly  would  not  only  be  advantageous  but  would  bring  glory  to 
any  one  who  would  undertake  it  and  accomplish  it.  This  passage 
would  have  to  be  built  through  Tierra  Firme  from  one  ocean  to 
the  other  by  one  of  the  four  following  routes : 

First,  by  way  of  the  Chagres  River,  which  rises  within  four 
leagues  of  Panama,  or 

Second,  by  way  of  the  San  Juan  River  to  Lake  Nicaragua,  which 
is  only  three  or  four  leagues  from  the  Pacific  Ocean,  or 


120 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


■  Third,  from  the  River  of  Vera  Cruz  to  Tehuantepec,  or 
*  Fourth,  from  the  Gulf  of  Uraba  to  the  Gulf  of  San  Miguel,  a 
distance  of  twenty-five  leagues. 

The  last  two  he  considered  the  most  difficult.  There  were  lands 
to  overcome,  he  said,  but  there  were  hands  to  do  it.  The  spirit 
would  not  be  wanting  where  the  money  could  be  obtained  and  the 
Indies  where  the  work  was  to  be  done  would  provide  it.  If  this 
passage  were  built  one  third  of  the  distance  would  be  saved  and 
for  the  trade  in  spices,  for  the  wealth  of  India,  and  for  a  king 
of  Spain  the  work  was  but  a  small  affair. 

An  account  is  given  in  Purchas’  Pilgrims  of  a  Portuguese  named 
Martin  Chacke  who  claimed  to  have  sailed  from  the  East  Indies 
to  the  North  Sea  through  a  passage  in  latitude  59°  N.  in  the  year 
1565.  During  a  severe  storm  his  ship  was  separated  from  the 
balance  of  the  fleet  that  he  was  sailing  with,  but  by  finding  this 
passage  he  came  to  anchor  at  Lisbon  four  or  five  weeks  in  ad¬ 
vance  of  his  companions. 

Again  came  the  rumor  that  in  1556  or  1557  Andres  de  Urdaneta 
had  discovered  the  passage  between  the  seas  and  that  Salvatierra 
had  traced  it  on  a  chart.  No  documentary  evidence  of  this  has 
been  found.  In  a  later  report  to  the  government,  Urdaneta  wrote 
that  news  had  been  received  in  New  Spain  of  a  passage  discovered 
by  the  French,  who  had  entered  it  by  way  of  the  coast  of  Labrador 
at  about  70°  N.  latitude,  thence  sailing  S.W.  to  below  50°  had 
found  an  open  sea  easily  navigable  to  China.  Furthermore,  said 
he,  a  passage  had  been  discovered  farther  south  by  the  same 
explorers,  and  Spain  ought  at  once  to  investigate  the  matter;  if 
found  true,  the  entrances  ought  to  be  fortified  for  protection  against 
foreign  aggression  or  use. 

In  1590  Padre  Jose  de  Acosta  in  his  Historia  Natural  y  Moral 
de  las  Indias  wrote  that  there  were  some  who  said  that  the  land 
would  be  submerged  if  an  opening  were  made  between  the  two 
oceans,  as  the  level  of  one  was  lower  than  the  other,  and  that  for 
the  same  reason  the  Red  Sea  had  never  been  connected  by  canal 
with  the  waters  of  the  Nile.  In  his  opinion  no  human  power  would 
suffice  to  level  the  rocks  and  mountains  which  God  had  placed  be¬ 
tween  the  two  oceans  in  order  to  withstand  the  fury  of  the  waves. 
The  frequent  disasters  which  befell  expeditions  through  the 


THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC  CANAL 


121 


Straits  of  Magellan  and  the  great  cost  of  that  voyage  made  trans¬ 
portation  across  the  Isthmus  far  more  desirable.  While  for  this 
purpose  Nombre  de  Dios,  the  Atlantic  terminus  of  the  road  to* 
Panama,  was  fortified  to  protect  the  road  against  pirates,  the 
Straits  of  Magellan  were  forgotten  even  to  the  point  of  doubting 
their  existence. 

It  may  be  proper  here  to  mention  the  story  concerning  Philip 
II,  who  is  reported  to  have  prohibited  further  consideration  of  an 
inter-oceanic  canal.  A  later  Spanish  writer  states  that  if  such  an 
order  were  issued,  it  was  done  to  prevent  so  far  as  possible  any 
further  aggression  upon  the  part  of  other  nations.  An  attack  upon 
the  Spanish  possessions  would  have  been  made  far  easier  by  the 
existence  of  a  canal,  which  would  have  opened  the  way  to  Peru, 
where  otherwise  another  fleet  would  have  to  be  created  on  the 
Pacific  by  the  attacking  forces. 

Lucien  N.  B.  Wyse  mentions  this  matter  in  his  book  Le  Canal 
de  Panama,  published  in  1886.  He  says  that  he  examined  the 
Spanish  and  Granadan  archives,  looking  in  vain  for  this  decree 
supposed  to  have  been  issued  by  Philip  II  according  to  Alcedo. 
He  thinks  however  that  the  confusion  arose  from  a  decree  issued 
by  Philip  V  in  1719,  which  threatened  with  capital  punishment 
anyone  who  should  dare  to  make  any  further  investigations  con¬ 
cerning  the  junction  of  the  River  Atrato  with  any  stream  flowing 
into  the  Pacific  Ocean.  This  was  done  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
governor  of  New  Granada  in  order  to  protect  the  custom-house 
at  Carthagena  against  the  activity  of  smugglers. 

During  this  time  England  also,  developing  her  naval  power  / 
and  advancing  her  schemes  for  colonization  and  trade,  was  not 
idle  in  the  search  for  the  secret  of  the  Strait.  Her  sailors  swept 
the  seas  in  their  attempts  to  find  it.  Towards  the  end  of  the  six¬ 
teenth  century  expeditions  under  Frobisher  and  Davis  tried  to 
find  their  way  through  the  northern  part  of  the  American  con¬ 
tinent  and  left  the  names  of  their  commanders  on  our  maps  of 
the  waters  that  they  explored. 

Lorenzo  Ferrer  Maldonado  was  another  of  those  who  claimed 
to  have  found  a  passage  from  sea  to  sea  in  1588,  the  year  of  the 
Spanish  Armada.  While  his  account  seems  to  have  been  dis¬ 
credited  in  his  own  time,  it  is  stated  by  Navarrete  that  two  hun- 


122 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


dred  years  later,  towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  con¬ 
siderable  attention  was  paid  to  his  story  and  the  Spanish  govern¬ 
ment  sent  the  corvettes  Descubierta  and  Atrevida  from  Acapulco 
to  investigate  and  report  upon  the  Maldonado  voyage. 

The  voyage  of  Juan  de  Fuca  is  reported  by  Purchas  to  have 
been  made  in  1592.  He  claimed  to  have  sailed  from  Mexico  up 
the  coast  of  California  in  search  of  the  reputed  straits  of  Anian 
and  the  passage  to  the  North  Sea.  When  he  arrived  in  latitude 
47°  N.  he  found  a  broad  inlet  between  the  47th  and  48th  parallels 
which  he  entered  and  after  sailing  through  it  for  twenty  days, 
came  into  the  Atlantic.  Having  thus  in  his  opinion  accom¬ 
plished  his  purpose  he  returned  to  Acapulco.  The  only  record 
of  his  voyage  lies  in  the  strait  that  bears  his  name,  an  appella¬ 
tion  of  later  date  than  the  supposed  voyage. 

The  right  worshipful  merchants  of  the  Moscovie  and  Turkie 
Company  of  England  fitted  out  two  vessels  in  1602  under  com¬ 
mand  of  Captain  George  Weymouth  to  discover  the  northwest 
passage  to  China.  For  better  success  of  the  voyage  this  small 
fleet  was  provided  with  a  great  traveller  and  learned  minister  who 
had  been  in  Persia  and  Turkey  and  was  therefore  familiar  with 
the  language  and  customs  of  the  people  whom  the  expedition  was 
intended  to  visit.  After  sailing  along  the  coast  of  Labrador  for 
some  time  they  returned  to  England  without  having  accomplished 
anything.  No  better  success  attended  the  expedition  of  Master 
John  Knight,  who  was  sent  out  from  England  by  a  company  of 
merchants  in  1606,  but  returned  to  England  after  a  fruitless  voy¬ 
age  full  of  hardships  and  mishaps. 

In  reviewing  the  voyages  made  in  search  of  the  straits  by  the 
English,  Purchas  expressed  himself  as  satisfied  of  its  existence. 
The  constant  great  tides  in  Hudson  Bay  every  twelve  hours  and 
the  increase  of  those  tides  whenever  strong  western  winds  blew, 
convinced  him  that  the  main  Western  Ocean  was  not  far  away. 
“So  may  all  the  world,”  he  says,  “be  in  this  beholding  to  us  in 
opening  a  new  and  large  passage,  both  much  nearer  and  safer  and 
far  more  wholesome  and  temperate  through  the  continent  of 
Virginia  and  by  Fretum  Hudson,  to  all  those  rich  countries  bor¬ 
dering  upon  the  South  Sea  in  the  East  and  West  Indies.” 


THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC  CANAL 


123 


Philip  III  (1598-1621)  was  also  interested  in  finding  the  strait, 
and  there  is  a  letter  from  Pedro  de  Ledesma  on  behalf  of  the  King 
to  the  President  of  the  City  of  Panama,  dated  Dec.  31, 1616,  con¬ 
cerning  the  necessary  steps  to  be  taken  to  examine  the  entrance 
supposed  to  exist  by  way  of  the  River  Darien  to  the  South  Sea. 
Upon  the  same  date  he  also  directed  the  fleet  bound  for  Tierra 
Firme  to  make  the  same  investigation. 

In  1636  Francisco  de  Vergara,  to  whom  Spain  had  granted 
the  privilege  of  exploring  the  coast  of  California,  transferred  his 
right  to  Esteban  Carbonel.  The  privilege  was  withdrawn,  a 
suit  was  brought  against  Carbonel  and  he  was  arrested  because 
of  suspicious  circumstances  attending  his  proposed  voyage.  It 
was  learned  that  he  was  a  Frenchman  and  had  French  companions 
with  him,  some  of  them  from  New  France,  who  said  that  a  strait 
through  the  continent  certainly  existed.  Carbonel  had  been 
building  a  very  large  boat  secretly  on  the  Rio  Santiago  and  it 
was  thought  that  he  planned  to  seek  the  strait,  sail  to  France, 
and  thus  open  to  that  country  a  passage  to  the  Spanish  posses¬ 
sions  on  the  Pacific. 

In  1640  Pedro  Porter  y  Casanate  presented  a  statement  to  the 
Spanish  government  concerning  the  advantages  to  Spain  of  a 
communication  through  California  between  the  North  and  South 
Seas.  He  recited  various  voyages  made  in  search  of  the  strait 
and  stated  that  after  comparing  most  of  the  narratives,  he  found 
no  bearing  exact,  no  distance  certain,  no  latitude  established,  no 
sounding  dependable  and  no  chart  correct.  These  unfavorable 
comments  upon  the  work  of  previous  explorers  are  criticized  by 
Navarrete,  who  thinks  that  they  were  made  for  the  purpose  of 
improving  Porter’s  chances  of  being  entrusted  with  an  expedi¬ 
tion  himself.  He  was  successful  in  this,  but  his  expedition  accom¬ 
plished  nothing. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  17th  century  Diego  de  Mercado,  by 
birth  a  Fleming,  but  for  a  long  time  a  resident  of  Guatemala, 
proposed  to  connect  the  oceans  by  a  canal  from  Lake  Nicaragua 
to  the  Gulf  of  Papagayo.  Nothing  came  of  this  project,  for 
while  it  was  being  examined  and  reports  prepared  concerning  it, 
Mercado  died. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  17th  century  an  act  of  the  Scottish 


124 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Parliament  was  passed  constituting  the  “Company  of  Scotland, 
V  Trading  to  Africa  and  the  Indies.”  William  Paterson,  the  chief 
projector  of  the  Bank  of  England,  was  the  moving  spirit  of  this 
enterprise,  which  was  popularly  known  as  The  Darien  Com¬ 
pany.  An  expedition  was  sent  out  from  Leith  in  July,  1698. 
The  opinion  seems  to  prevail  that  the  purpose  of  this  company 
was  to  connect  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans  by  a  canal  in  order 
to  facilitate  the  trade  of  Great  Britain  with  the  Orient.  I  have 
been  unable  to  find  a  single  expression  of  that  purpose ;  on  the 
contrary  the  purpose  seems  to  have  been  to  establish  a  colony  on 
the  Atlantic,  then  in  course  of  time  to  establish  another  on  the 
Pacific  and  to  connect  these  two  great  emporiums  by  an  over¬ 
land  route. 

“The  time  and  expense,”  wrote  Paterson,  “of  navigation  to 
China,  Japan,  the  Spice  Islands  and  the  far  greatest  part  of  the 
East  Indies  will  be  lessened  more  than  half,  and  the  consumption 
of  European  commodities  and  manufactories  will  soon  be  more 
than  doubled.  Trade  will  increase  trade,  and  money  will  beget 
money,  and  the  trading  world  shall  need  no  more  to  want  work 
for  their  hands,  but  will  rather  want  hands  for  their  work.  Thus, 
this  door  of  the  seas,  and  the  key  to  the  universe,  with  anything 
of  a  sort  of  reasonable  management,  will  of  course  enable  its 
proprietors  to  give  laws  to  both  oceans  and  to  become  arbitrators 
of  the  commercial  world,  without  being  liable  to  the  fatigues, 
expenses  and  dangers,  or  contracting  the  guilt  and  blood,  of  Alex¬ 
ander  and  Csesar.” 

Two  Franciscan  friars  who  explored  the  solitudes  of  New  Mexico 
in  1777  suggested  the  possibility  of  connecting  the  headwaters  of 
the  Colorado  River,  which  flows  into  the  Gulf  of  California,  with 
the  headwaters  of  the  Rio  Grande,  which  flows  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  While  the  sources  of  these  rivers  may  not  be  many  miles 
apart,  a  glance  at  the  map  will  suffice  to  show  the  utter  impos¬ 
sibility  of  realizing  such  a  dream. 

An  idea  with  some  possibility  of  fulfilment  was  the  plan  ad¬ 
vanced  by  the  Biscayan  pilot  Goyeneche,  who  proposed  to  connect 
the  Bay  of  Cupica  with  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Atrato. 

A  great  many  other  attempts  were  made  to  find  the  secret  of 
the  straits,  besides  those  here  related,  but  sufficient  account  has 


THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC  CANAL 


125 


been  given  of  the  continuous  efforts  made  for  several  hundred  years 
to  find  it. 

From  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  the  Straits  of  Magellan  no  tempting 
stream  that  poured  its  waters  into  either  ocean  was  neglected ; 
no  bay,  no  inlet  failed  to  receive  the  careful  examination  of  the 
explorer;  no  dream  too  wild  but  found  its  supporters — but 
all  to  no  purpose.  The  fact  remained  that  there  was  no 
open  way  from  ocean  to  ocean,  and  that  being  established  be¬ 
yond  doubt,  former  plans  of  a  canal  were  revived  and  new  ones 
advanced. 

About  one  hundred  years  ago  nine  different  locations  for  an  in¬ 
ter-oceanic  canal  had  been  thought  of,  discussed,  or  examined,  the 
number  having  been  increased  by  five  since  the  time  of  Gomara, 
two  hundred  and  fifty  years  before.  They  are  given  by  Hum¬ 
boldt  in  his  Political  Essay  on  the  Kingdom  of  New  Spain  and 
copied  in  Thompson’s  translation  of  Alcedo’s  Historical  Dic¬ 
tionary  as  follows : 

1.  By  connecting  the  headwaters  of  the  Columbia  and  Peace 
rivers  in  what  is  now  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 

2.  By  connecting  the  headwaters  of  the  Colorado  River  with 
the  Rio  Grande. 

3.  By  connecting  the  River  Coatzacoalcos  (Huasacualco) 
with  the  Gulf  of  Tehuantepec. 

4.  By  way  of  the  San  Juan  River  to  Lake  Nicaragua,  thence  by 
cutting  a  canal  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

5.  By  way  of  the  Chagres  River  to  Panama. 

6.  The  project  of  the  Biscayan  pilot  Goyeneche  to  connect 
the  Bay  of  Cupica  with  the  River  Naipi,  a  branch  of  the  Atrato. 

7.  The  development  of  the  Canal  de  la  Raspadura,  which 
connects  the  Atrato  with  the  River  San  Juan. 

8.  The  Gulf  of  St.  George  on  the  Atlantic  side  of  Patagonia  was 
supposed  to  enter  so  far  into  the  interior  of  the  country  as  to 
communicate  with  some  arm  of  the  sea  entering  from  the  west. 

Humboldt  spoke  also  of  a  ninth  point  at  which  there  might  be 
a  communication  between  the  two  seas  by  way  of  the  Grand  Para 
River  in  Brazil,  but  went  on  to  say  that  “the  height  of  the  Cor¬ 
dillera  and  the  nature  of  the  ground,  render  the  execution  of  a 
canal  impossible.” 


126 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


In  a  later  work  he  reduced  the  number  of  possibilities  to  five, 
namely : 

The  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec 
The  Isthmus  of  Nicaragua 
The  Isthmus  of  Panama 
The  Isthmus  of  Darien,  or  Cupica 
The  Canal  of  Raspadura, 

all  placed  at  the  center  of  the  New  Continent  at  an  equal  distance 
from  Cape  Horn  and  the  northwest  coast. 

In  speaking  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  he  quoted  the  assertion 
of  a  traveller  that  the  hills  that  compose  the  central  chain  of  the 
isthmus  are  separated  from  each  other  by  valleys  “  which  leave 
a  free  course  to  the  passage  of  waters.”  Humboldt  therefore 
concluded  that  the  research  of  engineers  charged  to  explore  those 
countries  should  be  principally  directed  to  the  discovery  of  the 
transversal  valleys.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  he  said  “  I  shall 
abstain  from  discussing  the  question  whether  this  ground  should 
form  a  separate  republic  by  the  name  of  Junxtiana,  dependent  on 
the  federation  of  the  United  States.” 

J.  P.  Eckermann,  in  his  “  Conversations  with  Goethe,”  writes  that 
while  at  table  on  February  21,  1827,  Goethe  spoke  a  great  deal 
about  Alexander  von  Humboldt,  whose  book  relating  to  Cuba 
and  Colombia  he  had  begun  to  read.  He  seemed  especially  in¬ 
terested  in  the  project  of  a  canal  through  the  Isthmus  of  Panama. 
“Humboldt”  said  Goethe  “has  indicated  several  other  places, 
which,  by  using  the  rivers  flowing  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  could 
be  of  greater  advantage  for  a  canal  than  Panama.  All  this  must 
be  left  for  the  future  and  for  some  great  enterprising  genius.  This 
much  however  is  certain,  if  a  canal  could  be  built  which  would 
permit  the  passage  of  ships  of  all  sizes  from  ocean  to  ocean,  the 
entire  world,  both  civilized  and  uncivilized,  would  reap  countless 
benefits.  But  it  would  surprise  me  if  the  United  States  would 
miss  the  opportunity  of  getting  such  a  work  into  their  own  hands. 
The  westward  tendency  of  this  young  nation  will  in  the  course  of 
thirty  or  forty  years  have  established  it  beyond  the  Rockies.  New 
trading  centers  will  spring  up  in  the  safe  and  roomy  harbors  on 
the  Pacific  coast  for  developing  commercial  relations  with  China 
and  the  East  Indies.  In  that  event  it  will  not  only  be  desirable 


THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC  CANAL 


127 


but  also  necessary  that  both  merchant  vessels  and  men  of  war 
should  have  a  quicker  connection  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
than  is  possible  by  a  voyage  around  Cape  Horn.  I  therefore  re¬ 
peat  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  United  States  to  build 
the  inter-oceanic  canal  and  I  am  sure  that  she  will  do  so. 

“  I  would  like  to  live  to  see  this,  but  I  will  not,  though  it  would 
be  worth  while  to  bear  life  for  fifty  years  longer  for  this  purpose.” 

During  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  Spanish 
colonies  on  the  mainland  of  North  and  South  America  declared 
themselves  free  and  became  independent  states.  Early  in  their 
separate  political  existence  they  turned  their  attention  to  the 
construction  of  an  inter-oceanic  canal.  All  the  available  routes 
were  within  their  territory,  but  it  was  recognized  that  they  would 
be  unable  either  to  construct  or  protect  a  canal  without  the  help 
of  some  more  powerful  nation  or  nations. 

In  1880  President  Hayes  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  coast 
line  of  the  canal  should  be  “considered  a  part  of  the  coast-line 
of  the  United  States”  and  that  it  should  be  under  our  control. 
Until  that  time  the  policy  had  been  rather  in  favor  of  a  canal 
open  to  the  world  upon  condition  of  strict  neutrality,  and  it  is  per¬ 
haps  true  that  all  other  problems  in  regard  to  the  canal  would  have 
been  solved  and  its  actual  construction  would  have  been  completed 
long  ago  had  it  not  been  for  difficulties  and  complications  arising 
out  of  the  questions  of  its  status  in  international  law. 

Bolivar  summoned  a  Congress  of  American  Republics  to  meet 
at  Panama  in  1826,  at  which  the  question  of  the  construction  of  a 
ship  canal  was  to  be  one  of  the  subjects  of  discussion.  In  his 
instructions  to  the  U.  S.  Commissioners  to  that  Congress  concern¬ 
ing  the  diplomatic  status  of  the  canal,  Mr.  Clay  said,  “  If  the  work 
should  ever  be  executed  so  as  to  admit  of  the  passage  of  sea  ves¬ 
sels  from  ocean  to  ocean,  the  benefits  of  it  ought  not  to  be  exclu¬ 
sively  appropriated  to  any  one  nation,  but  should  be  extended 
to  all  parts  of  the  globe  upon  the  payment  of  a  just  compensation 
or  reasonable  tolls.” 

Owing  to  the  delay  in  the  appointment  of  the  Commissioners 
they  did  not  reach  Panama  until  after  the  Congress  had  adjourned 
and  it  never  again  re-assembled. 

In  1835  a  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  Senate  of  the  United 


128 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


States  calling  upon  the  President  to  open  negotiations  with  the 
governments  of  other  nations  and  especially  those  of  Central 
America  and  New  Granada  for  the  protection  of  those  who  might 
undertake  the  construction  of  a  canal  across  the  Isthmus  and 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  forever  the  free  and  equal  right  of 
navigating  such  canal  to  all  nations  upon  payment  of  reasonable 
tolls. 

In  1839  the  House  of  Representatives  adopted  a  resolution  re¬ 
questing  the  President  to  consider  the  expediency  of  negotiating 
with  other  nations  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  practicabil¬ 
ity  of  effecting  a  communication  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
by  the  construction  of  a  ship  canal  and  for  the  free  and  equal 
right  of  navigating  it  to  all  nations.  Neither  of  these  resolutions 
obtained  any  practical  result,  but  that  of  the  House  of  Represent¬ 
atives  seems  to  be  the  first  suggestion  of  the  construction  of  an  in¬ 
ter-oceanic  canal  by  the  American  government. 

In  1845-46  Prince  Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  while  yet  a  po¬ 
litical  prisoner  in  France,  secured  a  concession  from  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  Nicaragua  to  organize  a  company  for  the  construction  of  a 
canal  by  way  of  the  San  Juan  River  and  the  two  lakes  to  Realejo, 
to  be  called  “Le  Canal  Napoleon  de  Nicarague.”  After 
his  escape  to  London  he  published  a  pamphlet  entitled  The 
Canal  of  Nicaragua  or  a  Project  for  the  Junction  of  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  Oceans  by  means  of  a  Canal.  In  this  he  said :  — 
“There  exists  in  the  New  World  a  state  as  admirably  situated  as 
Constantinople,  and  we  must  say  up  to  this  time  as  uselessly 
occupied.  We  allude  to  the  state  of  Nicaragua.  As  Constan¬ 
tinople  is  the  centre  of  the  ancient  world,  so  is  the  town  of  Leon 
the  centre  of  the  new,  and  if  the  tongue  of  land  which  separates 
its  two  lakes  from  the  Pacific  Ocean  were  cut  through,  she  would 
command  by  virtue  of  her  central  position  the  entire  coast 
of  North  and  South  America.  The  state  of  Nicaragua  can  be¬ 
come,  better  than  Constantinople,  the  necessary  route  of  the 
great  commerce  of  the  world,  and  is  destined  to  attain  an  extraor¬ 
dinary  degree  of  prosperity  and  grandeur.  France,  England  and 
Holland  have  a  great  commercial  interest  in  the  establishment  of 
a  communication  between  the  two  oceans,  but  England  has,  more 
than  the  other  powers,  a  political  interest  in  the  execution  of  this 


THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC  CANAL 


129 


project.  England  will  see  with  pleasure,  Central  America  be¬ 
coming  a  powerful  and  flourishing  state,  which  will  establish  a 
balance  of  power  by  creating  in  Spanish  America  a  new  centre  of 
active  enterprise,  powerful  enough  to  give  rise  to  a  feeling  of 
nationality,  and  to  prevent,  by  backing  Mexico,  any  further  en¬ 
croachments  from  the  North.” 

Later  developments  in  France,  which  made  Louis  Napoleon 
Emperor  of  the  French,  ended  his  activities  in  this  connection  for 
the  time.  It  has  never  been  known  how  far  his  schemes  had  pro¬ 
gressed,  but  it  has  been  reported  that  the  necessary  funds  were 
assured  and  the  arrangements  for  commencing  the  work  were  in 
progress,  and  that  it  was  the  English  operations  in  Central  America 
in  connection  with  the  Napoleonic  scheme  which  aroused  the  in¬ 
dignation  of  this  country  and  eventually  led  to  the  Clayton-Bulwer 
negotiations. 

In  December,  1846,  a  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  New 
Granada  was  signed  at  Bogota  and  ratified  by  both  governments 
two  years  later.  One  of  its  articles  guaranteed  to  the  United 
States  that  “the  right  of  way  or  transit  across  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama,  upon  any  modes  of  communication  that  now  exist  or 
that  may  hereafter  be  constructed,  shall  be  open  and  free  to  the 
government  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,”  for  the  transpor¬ 
tation  of  all  articles  of  lawful  commerce  upon  the  same  terms  as 
to  the  citizens  of  New  Granada.  In  return  the  United  States 
guaranteed  to  New  Granada  the  perfect  neutrality  of  the  Isthmus 
and  also  “the  rights  of  sovereignty  and  property  which  New  Gra¬ 
nada  has  and  possesses  over  the  said  territory.”  No  notice  of  the 
termination  of  this  treaty  was  ever  given  by  either  party  thereto. 

The  acquisition  of  California  and  the  discovery  of  gold  there 
made  the  subject  of  inter-oceanic  communication  of  greater  im¬ 
portance  than  ever  to  the  United  States.  Overland  routes  by  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama  and  across  the  Isthmus  of  Nicaragua  were 
opened  to  take  care  of  the  large  emigration  to  the  Pacific  Coast. 

This  led  to  the  construction  of  the  Panama  Railroad.  A  contract 
was  entered  into  by  a  party  of  Americans  with  the  Government 
of  New  Granada  for  the  exclusive  privilege  of  constructing  it 
across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  two  ports,  one  on  the  Atlantic 
and  the  other  on  the  Pacific,  were  to  be  free  ports.  A  charter  was 


130 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


granted  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York  for  the 
formation  of  a  stock  company  under  which  one  million  dollars 
of  stock  was  subscribed.  The  work  was  commenced  in  May 
1850,  and  the  last  rail  was  laid  at  midnight  on  January  27,  1855,  a 
locomotive  passing  from  ocean  to  ocean  on  the  following  day. 
The  construction  account  was  not  closed  until  January  1859,  at 
which  time  the  entire  cost  of  the  road  was  shown  to  have  been 
$8, 000, 000,  and  it  was  doing  a  profitable  business.  An  interesting 
report  concerning  the  road  states  that  in  1860  only  one-fifteenth 
of  its  freighting  business  was  due  to  the  California  trade,  the  re¬ 
maining  fourteen-fifteenths  consisting  mainly  of  shipments  between 
the  United  States  and  England,  and  Central  and  South  America. 
A  few  years  after  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  between  the  United 
States  and  New  Granada,  under  which  this  road  was  built,  ne¬ 
gotiations  between  England  and  the  United  States  culminated  in 
the  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty.  It  was  signed  at  Washington,  April 
19,  1850,  and  ratifications  were  exchanged  on  July  4th  of  the  same 
year.  Secretary  Blaine,  speaking  of  it  in  1881,  described  it  as 
“  misunderstandingly  entered  into,  imperfectly  comprehended, 
contradictorily  interpreted,  and  mutually  vexatious.”  It  owed 
its  origin  to  the  fear  of  English  aggression  and  was  hastened  by 
Great  Britain’s  occupation,  under  assumption  of  a  protectorate, 
of  the  territory  at  the  mouth  of  the  San  Juan  River.  The  re¬ 
ports  concerning  the  difficulties  to  be  encountered  in  the  construc¬ 
tion  of  a  canal  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  had  led  to  a  more 
careful  consideration  of  the  Nicaragua  Canal,  of  which  the  San 
Juan  River  formed  the  Atlantic  entrance.  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  negotiated  treaties  with  Nicaragua  and  Hon¬ 
duras,  which,  although  never  ratified,  were  used  in  persuading 
England  to  sign  the  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty.  The  English  gov¬ 
ernment  was  informed  that  while  the  United  States  “  aimed  at  no 
exclusive  privilege  for  themselves,  they  could  never  consent  to  see 
so  important  a  communication  fall  under  the  exclusive  control 
of  any  other  great  commercial  power.” 

Article  VIII  of  the  treaty  provides  that  “  the  governments  of  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain  having  not  only  desired,  in  enter¬ 
ing  into  this  convention,  to  accomplish  a  particular  object,  but 
also  to  establish  a  general  principle ;  they  hereby  agree  to  extend 


THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC  CANAL 


131 


their  protection,  by  treaty  stipulations,  to  any  other  practical 
communications,  whether  by  canal  or  railway,  across  the  isthmus 
which  connects  North  and  South  America,  and  especially  to  the 
inter-oceanic  communications  should  the  same  prove  to  be  prac¬ 
ticable,  whether  by  canal  or  railway,  which  are  now  proposed  to 
be  established  by  the  way  of  Tehuantepec  or  Panama.” 

Many  insisted  that  by  entering  into  this  treaty  the  United  States 
had  abandoned  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  having  yielded  equal  rights 
to  a  foreign  country  in  regard  to  an  American  project.  The  treaty 
had  hardly  been  ratified  when  misunderstandings  arose  concern¬ 
ing  the  construction  to  be  placed  on  some  of  its  stipulations,  and 
several  efforts  were  made  towards  its  abrogation,  but  England  re¬ 
mained  tenacious  of  the  acquired  rights  to  a  share  in  the  protec¬ 
torate  over  any  canal  that  might  be  built.  In  1860  President 
Buchanan  in  his  annual  message  said :  “  The  discordant  con¬ 
structions  of  the  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty  between  the  two 
governments,  which  at  different  periods  of  the  discussion  bore  a 
threatening  aspect,  have  resulted  in  a  final  settlement  entirely 
satisfactory  to  this  government,”  again  indicating  by  this  dec¬ 
laration  that  the  United  States  made  no  claim  to  the  sole  control 
of  the  inter-oceanic  canal,  but  rather  favored  the  policy  of  having 
other  nations  join  with  them  in  guaranteeing  its  neutrality. 

A  few  words  ought  here  be  said  concerning  the  “  Isthmus  of 
Darien  Ship  Canal”  which  was  strongly  urged  upon  England  by 
Dr.  Edward  Cullen  in  1851,  after  he  had  crossed  the  Isthmus 
several  times  between  Caledonia  Bay  and  the  Gulf  of  San  Miguel, 
a  distance  of  thirty-nine  miles.  By  utilizing  the  Savana  River, 
he  claimed  that  the  cut  to  be  made  would  cross  a  country  pre¬ 
senting  but  a  single  ridge  of  low  elevation  and  would  not  exceed 
twenty-five  miles  in  length.  He  said  that  “The  canal,  to  be  on 
a  scale  of  grandeur  commensurate  with  its  important  uses,  should 
be  cut  sufficiently  deep  to  allow  the  tide  of  the  Pacific  to  flow 
right  through  it  across  to  the  Atlantic ;  so  that  ships  bound  from 
the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic  would  pass  with  the  flood  and  those 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  with  the  ebb  tide  of  the  latter.” 
The  cost  of  building  the  canal  was  estimated  at  £7,000,000  and 
“The  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Junction  Company”  was  formed,  its 
capital  being  fixed  at  £15,000,000.  Dr.  Cullen  stated  that  the 


132 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


government  of  New  Granada  had  conceded,  by  decree  of  Con¬ 
gress,  Bogota,  June  1,  1S52,  the  exclusive  privilege  of  cutting  a 
ship  canal  across  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  and  had  granted  200,000 
acres  of  land,  besides  those  necessary  for  the  canal  and  its  works, 
to  himself  and  his  associates.  It  was  expected  that  in  accordance 
with  the  provisions  of  the  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty,  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States  would  extend  their  joint  protection  to  any 
company  undertaking  the  construction  of  this  canal.  The  Com¬ 
pany  was  provisionally  registered  and  was  to  be  incorporated  by 
royal  charter  or  act  of  parliament,  limiting  the  liability  of  the 
stockholders.  The  short  account  here  given  of  Dr.  Cullen’s  efforts 
in  behalf  of  the  Darien  ship  canal  was  obtained  from  a  book  pub¬ 
lished  by  him  in  London  in  1853.  Towards  the  end  of  that  year 
the  United  States  government  sent  Lieut.  Isaac  C.  Strain  to 
Caledonia  Bay  with  a  surveying  party  to  examine  the  plan.  He 
reported  it  impracticable,  as  he  found  mountains  from  1000  to 
3500  feet  high  in  the  way  of  the  canal,  and  with  this  the  project  of 
Dr.  Cullen  was  abandoned. 

In  1858  Louis  Napoleon,  now  Emperor  of  the  French,  renewed 
his  activities  in  connection  with  the  canal  project.  A  company 
was  organized  under  his  protection  and  an  engineering  party  sent 
to  Nicaragua  after  obtaining  contracts  both  from  Costa  Rica 
and  Nicaragua,  but  the  enterprise  collapsed  for  want  of  funds. 
Ten  years  later  Napoleon  again  revived  his  project,  but  the  out¬ 
break  of  the  Franco-German  war  ended  further  consideration  of 
the  matter. 

After  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  in  the  United  States,  our 
government  again  turned  its  attention  to  the  inter-oceanic  canal, 
and  in  1866  the  Senate  passed  a  resolution  requesting  the  Secre¬ 
tary  of  the  Navy  to  furnish  information  concerning  the  various 
proposed  lines  for  inter-oceanic  canals  and  railroads.  Rear-Ad¬ 
miral  Davis  in  reply  submitted  a  report  giving  the  desired  in¬ 
formation  and  also  set  forth  the  insufficiency  of  available  data. 
About  the  same  time  the  United  States  began  its  efforts  for  the 
abrogation  of  the  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty.  Mr.  Seward,  writing 
to  the  American  representative  in  London,  made  this  statement : 
—  “  At  the  time  the  treaty  was  concluded  there  was  every  pros¬ 
pect  that  work  would  not  only  soon  be  begun,  but  that  it  would  be 


THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC  CANAL 


133 


carried  to  a  successful  conclusion.  For  reasons,  however,  which 
it  is  not  necessary  to  specify,  it  never  was  even  commenced,  and 
at  present  there  does  not  appear  to  be  a  likelihood  of  its  being 
undertaken.” 

During  President  Grant’s  administration,  thorough  surveys 
were  made  of  the  various  canal  projects  and  considerable  valuable 
information  was  obtained.  Grant  enunciated  the  doctrine  of  “an 
American  canal  under  American  control.” 

In  1879  a  call  was  issued  for  a  conference  on  the  subject  of  an 
inter-oceanic  canal  at  Paris,  which  resulted  in  the  organization  of 
a  French  construction  company  under  the  presidency  of  Ferdi¬ 
nand  de  Lesseps.  The  name  of  De  Lesseps  was  considered  a 
sufficient  guarantee  for  the  quick  and  successful  construction  of 
the  canal  and  it  stirred  up  considerable  feeling  in  the  United  States. 
It  was  announced  by  President  Hayes  that  “the  policy  of  this 
country  is  a  canal  under  American  control.”  His  successor, 
President  Garfield,  in  his  inaugural  address  expressed  the  same 
views,  saying  that  it  is  “the  right  and  duty  of  the  United  States  to 
assert  and  maintain  such  supervision  and  authority  over  any  inter- 
oceanic  canal  across  the  isthmus  as  will  protect  our  national 
interests.”  The  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Blaine,  advised  the  Amer¬ 
ican  representatives  in  Europe  that  this  policy  was  “  nothing  more 
than  the  pronounced  adherence  of  the  United  States  to  principles 
long  since  enunciated  by  the  highest  authority  of  the  government.” 
England  however  maintained  her  position  of  reliance  upon  the 
terms  of  the  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty  and  would  consent  to  no 
modification. 

About  this  time  an  entirely  new  idea  was  advanced  by  Captain 
James  B.  Eads,  who  had  made  a  great  reputation  as  an  engineer 
by  building  a  system  of  jetties  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  deepening  its  entrance  sufficiently  for  navigation.  He 
proposed  to  build  a  railroad  across  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec 
which  would  carry  the  largest  ships  fully  laden  upon  its  cars  from 
ocean  to  ocean.  He  secured  a  concession  for  its  construction 
from  the  Mexican  government  but  nothing  ever  came  of  it. 

On  February  1,  1881,  the  Universal  Inter-oceanic  Canal  Com¬ 
pany,  which  had  been  organized  by  De  Lesseps,  commenced  its 
work.  The  Panama  route  had  been  decided  upon  and  the  plans  for 


134 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


a  tide-level  canal  perfected.  Its  cost  was  estimated  at  $132,000,000. 
From  the  beginning  extravagance  and  corruption  reigned  supreme. 
All  kinds  of  merchandise,  necessary  and  unnecessary,  were  pur¬ 
chased  at  enormous  prices.  Willis  Fletcher  Johnson,  in  his  book, 
Four  Centuries  of  the  Panama  Canal,  says :  “  In  one  place  I 
saw  where  there  had  been  stored  a  huge  consignment  of  snow- 
shovels,  —  thousands  of  them.  In  another  place  there  had  been 
received  and  stored  some  15,000  kerosene  torches,  such  as  are 
used  in  torchlight  processions.  The  manufacturers  got  rid  of 
surplus,  out-of-date  and  almost  worthless  stock,  at  top  prices. 
The  purchasing  agents  got  large  commissions.”  The  same  ex¬ 
travagance  prevailed  in  the  construction  department.  Writing 
in  October,  1885,  Wyse  says  that  of  the  sixteen  or  seventeen  mil¬ 
lions  of  cubic  metres  excavated,  but  twelve  millions  were  properly 
done  upon  the  canal  itself.  Then  there  is  an  account  of  millions 
spent  -upon  hospitals,  stables,  office  buildings,  roads,  etc.,  which 
cost  the  stockholders  three  times  as  much  as  they  did  the  builders. 
There  could  be  but  one  result.  After  seven  years,  in  1888,  the 
company  had  spent  $400,000,000,  not  half  of  the  work  had  been 
done,  and  the  company  was  bankrupt. 

On  October  21,  1893,  the  New  Panama  Canal  Company  was 
organized.  It  expected  to  complete  the  canal  by  an  additional 
expenditure  of  $180,000,000,  and  the  work  proceeded. 

Meanwhile  the  United  States  had  kept  a  jealous  eye  upon  the 
proceedings  at  Panama.  During  President  Arthur’s  adminis¬ 
tration,  Secretary  Frelinghuysen  had  negotiated  a  treaty  with 
Nicaragua  for  the  construction  of  a  canal  through  her  territory. 
This  treaty  was  still  before  the  Senate  when  President  Cleveland 
came  into  office  and  withdrew  it.  In  his  message  to  Congress  on 
December  8,  1885,  he  said:  “Whatever  highway  may  be  con¬ 
structed  across  the  barrier  dividing  the  two  great  maritime  areas 
of  the  world,  must  be  for  the  world’s  benefit,  a  trust  for  mankind, 
to  be  removed  from  the  chance  of  domination  by  any  single  power, 
nor  become  a  point  of  invitation  for  hostilities  or  a  prize  for  war¬ 
like  ambition.”  This  was  a  distinct  reaffirmation  of  the  Clay- 
ton-Bulwer  Treaty,  which  his  predecessors  had  endeavored  to 
abrogate. 

In  1890  the  Maritime  Canal  Company,  an  American  corporation, 


THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC  CANAL 


135 


began  work  at  Greytown.  After  three  years  they  had  spent  their 
entire  capital  of  $6,000,000,  and  owing  to  the  panic  of  1893  in  the 
United  States,  no  further  money  could  be  raised  for  it,  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  the  Nicaragua  route  seems  always  to  have  been  the 
popular  one  in  this  country.  An  effort  was  made  to  have  the 
United  States  government  take  up  the  project,  and  the  matter 
was  still  pending  when  war  broke  out  between  Spain  and  the 
United  States  in  1898.  Then  came  the  spectacular  voyage  of 
the  Oregon  from  San  Francisco  to  the  West  Indies.  An  inter- 
oceanic  canal  had  now  become  a  public  demand  and  the  United 
States  must  build  it.  In  1899  the  President  was  authorized  to 
send  a  commission  to  investigate  both  the  Panama  and  Nicaragua 
routes.  This  commission  made  its  report  in  December  1900, 
stating  that  while  the  cost  of  the  canal  at  Panama  would  be  less, 
the  Colombian  government  “is  not  free  to  grant  the  necessary 
rights  to  the  United  States,  except  upon  condition  that  an  agree¬ 
ment  be  reached  with  the  New  Panama  Canal  Company.  The 
commission  believes  that  such  agreement  is  impracticable.” 
The  report  further  stated  that  in  its  opinion  “the  most  practicable 
and  feasible  route  for  an  isthmian  canal  to  be  under  the  control, 
management  and  ownership  of  the  United  States  is  that  known 
as  the  Nicaragua  route.” 

Hardly  had  this  report  been  made,  when  the  commission  began 
its  negotiations  with  the  French  Company  at  Panama,  which  had 
estimated  the  value  of  its  property  at  $109,000,000,  while  the 
commission  thought  that  the  United  States  should  not  pay  more 
than  $40,000,000  for  it.  The  French  Company  finally  offered 
its  property  at  that  price  in  January  1902,  and  the  commission 
promptly  reversed  its  recommendation  and  urged  the  adoption  of 
the  Panama  route. 

Happily  also  the  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty  was  superseded  by  the 
Hay-Pauncefote  Treaty,  which  was  ratified  by  the  United  States 
Senate  on  December  16,  1901,  thus  ending  a  long  controversy. 
It  granted  to  the  United  States  the  right  to  construct  the  canal 
and  also  “  the  exclusive  right  of  providing  for  the  regulation  and 
management  of  the  canal.” 

In  June,  1902,  the  so-called  Spooner  Bill  was  approved,  and 
President  Roosevelt  was  authorized  to  purchase  the  rights  of  the 


136 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


French  Company  and  to  proceed  with  the  work  at  Panama,  under 
certain  conditions  to  be  granted  by  Colombia.  Should  he  be  un¬ 
able  to  obtain  the  control  and  the  rights  desired  from  Colombia, 
he  was  authorized  after  negotiating  treaties  with  Costa  Rica  and 
Nicaragua  upon  terms  that  he  might  consider  reasonable,  for  the 
construction,  perpetual  maintenance,  operation  and  protection  of  a 
canal,”  to  proceed  with  the  construction  of  the  Nicaragua  Canal. 

Then  came  the  vexatious  negotiations  with  Colombia,  which 
finally  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  Republic  of  Panama, 
with  which  the  United  States  proceeded  to  make  satisfactory 
treaties  concerning  the  canal. 

The  story  of  its  construction  must  be  an  interesting  one,  but  it 
is  entirely  separate  and  apart  from  its  historical  development, 
which  I  have  endeavored  to  present  to  you.  We  are  here  to-day 
to  celebrate  its  completion,  and  it  will  be  one  of  the  most  interest¬ 
ing  studies  of  the  years  to  come  to  watch  its  effect  upon  the  trade 
of  the  entire  world.  What  will  be  the  effect  of  the  closer  relations 
of  Europe  with  the  lands  of  the  Pacific,  and  what  effect  will  they 
in  turn  have  upon  Europe  ?  We  can  only  hope  that  the  same  gen¬ 
eral  benefit  to  mankind  which  has  always  resulted  from  bringing 
together  more  closely  the  peoples  of  the  world,  will  also  prove  true 
in  this  instance,  where  they  have  been  brought  closer  together  by 
the  Panama  Canal. 

The  Chairman :  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Panama  Pacific 
Historical  Congress :  When  the  idea  of  this  Congress  was  first 
started,  it  was  speedily  agreed  upon  by  the  members  having  charge 
of  the  programme,  that  there  should  be  a  series  of  papers  on  the  his¬ 
tory  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  culminating  in  a  paper  upon  the  history 
of  the  Panama  Canal  Idea.  That  paper,  as  written  by  Mr. 
Rudolph  J.  Taussig,  you  have  just  heard,  and  that  paper  will  be 
published  in  the  memorial  volume  of  this  historical  Congress ; 
but  it  is  to  me  the  culminating  point  of  this  Congress  that  I  should 
be  able  to  call  upon,  in  succession  to  the  reader  of  the  paper  on  the 
“  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Canal  Idea,”  the  man  who  removed  it 
from  the  realm  of  ideas. 

I  present  to  you  Mr.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  a  former  president  of 
the  American  Historical  Association. 


THE  PANAMA  CANAL 


Theodore  Roosevelt 
Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

As  an  ex-president  of  the  American  Historical  Association,  I  am 
very  glad  to  come  before  you  and  tell  you,  as  an  ex-president  of  the 
United  States,  just  exactly  what  was  done,  what  I  did  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  removing  the  canal  from  the  realm  of  purely  nebulous 
ideas,  and  reducing  it  to  actual  fact.  And  inasmuch  as  it  has  been 
said  that  history  is  past  romance,  and  romance  is  present  history, 
it  is  fitting  that  I  should  continue  the  account  given  to  you  by  Mr. 
Taussig,  up  to  the  point  of  the  negotiation  of  the  termination  of 
the  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty,  by  telling  you  just  what  happened 
during  the  next  few  months  that  made  those  few  months  wholly 
different  from  any  preceding  series  of  months  during  the  period 
when  the  canal  had  been  under  discussion.  And  in  order  that  you 
should  understand,  and  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  should 
understand  the  exact  facts,  I  wish  you  to  realize  that  I  never,  as 
President,  or  as  candidate  for  President,  said  anything  that  I  did 
not  intend  to  and  did  not  try  to  reduce  to  action  as  quickly  after 
saying  it  as  was  possible.  I  regard  mere  oratory,  mere  eloquence, 
mere  literary  skill,  as  a  curse  and  not  a  benefit  to  a  democracy,  un¬ 
less  it  is  made  either  as  a  species  of  action  or  an  incitement  to  ac¬ 
tion,  or  unless  it  is  translated  into  action.  There  is  nothing  that 
will  tend  more  surely  to  degeneration  of  the  soul,  whether  of  men 
or  of  the  Nation,  than  the  habit  of  using  words  without  reference 
to  turning  them  into  deeds,  and  when,  as  President,  I  have  said 
anything,  to  my  own  people  or  to  a  foreign  people,  big  or  little, 
I  meant  it,  and  the  other  party  knew  I  meant  it. 

Now,  when  I  became  President,  every  one  had  announced  that 
the  time  had  come  to  build  the  Isthmian  Canal.  I  announced  that 

137 


138 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


myself,  and  I  meant  it.  I  did  not  mean  by  that  that  I  intended  to 
talk  about  it  or  to  permit  others  to  talk  about  it,  excepting  in  so 
far  as  the  talk  was  an  indispensable  preliminary  to  the  speedy 
construction  of  the  canal. 

There  had  been  a  Pan-American  meeting,  at  which  all  of  the 
Republics,  or  practically  all  of  the  Republics  of  the  Western 
Hemisphere  were  represented,  at  which  meeting  all  of  the  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  the  Republics,  including  Colombia’s  representative, 
had  voted,  first,  that  the  Isthmian  Canal  must  be  built  as  speedily 
as  possible ;  and,  second,  that  the  United  States  was  to  build  it. 
Our  people,  through  their  official  representatives,  had  announced 
that  it  was  the  intention  of  this  government  to  build  the  canal. 

Now,  if  our  people  did  not  wish  the  canal  built,  then  they  had 
no  business  to  say  that  it  ought  to  be  built ;  and  above  all,  if 
they  did  not  wish  the  means  necessary  for  building  it  to  be 
adopted,  then  they  had  no  business  to  ask  for  the  end  that  could 
only  be  accomplished  by  those  means.  There  are  few  meaner 
forms  of  wrong-doing  than  to  demand  that  something  be  done, 
which  can  only  be  done  in  a  certain  way,  and  then  to  complain  be¬ 
cause  it  is  done  in  that  way ;  and  in  any  event  it  is  a  mistake  for 
any  person  privately,  or  for  all  persons  publicly,  to  hire  me  to  do 
anything  unless  they  want  it  done. 

Mr.  Taussig,  if  you  will  permit  me  to  say  so,  has  omitted  one 
fact  in  connection  with  the  abrogation  of  the  Clayton-Bulwer 
Treaty,  by  the  adoption  of  the  Hay-Pauncefote  Treaty.  I  did  not 
understand  you  (turning  to  Mr.  R.  J.  Taussig)  to  speak  of  the  first 
draft  of  the  Hay-Pauncefote  Treaty.  I  was  at  the  time  Governor 
of  the  State  of  New  York.  I  was  very  fond  of  John  Hay,  who  was 
then  Secretary  of  State.  The  first  draft  of  the  Hay-Pauncefote 
Treaty  did  not  vest  full  power  in  the  United  States  over  the  canal. 
The  first  draft  of  the  treaty  provided,  in  effect,  that  the  canal 
should  be  under  the  joint  control,  not  only  of  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain,  but  also  of  France  and  Germany.  Imagine ! 
Imagine  the  pleasure  of  administering  a  canal  under  such  a  com¬ 
bination  during  the  past  year  ;  and  yet  all  of  the  pacificists,  all  the 
peace-at-any-price  people,  all  of  the  “old  women”  of  both  sexes 
prattled  and  screamed  in  favor  of  our  adopting  such  a  policy,  ap¬ 
parently  on  the  ground  that,  as  it  was  going  to  be  bad  for  ourselves 


THE  PANAMA  CANAL 


139 


it  might  be  good  for  somebody  else.  I,  as  Governor,  issued  a 
statement,  saying  that  I  earnestly  hoped  that  treaty  would  be 
defeated.  That  proposed  treaty  denied  our  right  to  fortify  the 
canal.  I  issued  a  statement  saying  that  I  earnestly  hoped  the 
treaty  would  be  defeated,  unless  it  were  amended  so  that  we  would 
have  a  right  to  fortify  the  canal  which  we  built,  and  the  sole  right 
of  dominion  over  it,  and  of  defence  of  it.  That  treaty  was  defeated. 

The  treaty  that  was  adopted  shortly  after  I  became  President 
contained  the  two  provisions  for  which  I  had  asked  in  that  state¬ 
ment.  We  were  given  the  right  to  fortify  the  canal ;  in  the  treaty 
itself  it  was  made  our  duty  to  police  and  protect  the  canal,  and  by 
an  interchange  of  notes  immediately  afterwards,  the  construction 
was  explicitly  put  upon  the  treaty  that  we  were  at  liberty  to 
fortify  it,  and  England  and  France  and  Germany  were  all  elimi¬ 
nated  from  the  control  of  the  canal,  and  that  is  why  the  canal  has 
been  at  peace  during  the  past  year. 

At  the  same  time,  as  Mr.  Taussig  has  set  forth,  Congress  pro¬ 
vided  that  we  should  build  the  Panama  Canal,  if  we  could  purchase 
the  French  rights  for  forty  million  dollars;  that  otherwise  we 
should  build  the  Nicaragua  Canal.  Now,  it  was  immensely  in  the 
interest  of  Nicaragua  and  of  the  power  owning  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama  —  it  was  in  the  interest  of  all  —  that  the  canal  should  be 
built  in  its  territory,  and  each  was  very  anxious  that  we  should  go 
through  its  territory.  Colombia  negotiated,  on  its  own  initiative, 
with  us  a  treaty  in  which  it  set  the  price  that  we  should  give  for 
the  canal  rights  at  ten  million  dollars ;  negotiating  that  treaty 
so  as  to  persuade  us  not  to  negotiate  a  treaty  with  Nicaragua. 
When  we  concluded  that  treaty  with  Colombia  it  must  be  remem¬ 
bered  that  the  treaty  had  been  entered  into  for  a  valuable  con¬ 
sideration  given  Colombia,  namely,  the  consideration  of  our 
abandoning  the  Nicaragua  route.  It  was  because  of  Colombia’s 
willingness  to  give  the  canal  rights  to  us  for  ten  million  dollars,  and 
with  the  explicit  understanding  that  no  more  than  that  amount 
would  be  permitted,  that  we  abandoned  the  Nicaragua  route, 
conducted  our  negotiations  in  their  final  stages  with  the  French 
Company  and  took  up  the  Panama  route. 

At  that  time  Colombia  was  under  a  dictatorship,  and  it  is  essen¬ 
tial  that  you  should  remember  just  what  the  government  of  Colom- 


140 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


bia  was,  and  what  it  did,  in  forming  an  estimate  of  what  I  did  in 
connection  with  building  the  canal.  The  President  of  Colombia 
was  a  gentleman  named  Maroquin.  He  had  not  been  elected 
president ;  he  was  elected  vice-president.  He  inherited  the  presi¬ 
dency  by  putting  the  president  in  jail.  He  executed  a  coup  d'etat, 
and  took  possession  of  the  president ;  he  first  put  him  in  a  wooden 
cage  on  an  ox-wagon  and  shipped  him  to  jail.  He  was  a  strict 
constitutionalist !  He  issued  a  proclamation,  calling  attention  to 
the  provision  of  the  Colombian  Constitution  which  decreed  that  in 
the  absence  of  the  president  the  vice-president  should  perform  all 
the  executive  functions.  He  pointed  out  that  the  president  was 
absent,  and  he  began  to  perform  all  the  executive  functions. 

About  a  year  or  so  later  the  president,  opportunely,  died  in 
prison.  His  absence  thereby  became  permanent,  and  the  vice- 
president,  Mr.  Maroquin,  continued  to  exercise  all  of  the  executive 
functions.  Meanwhile  he  had  prorogued  congress.  He  did  not  let 
congress  come  together  for  five  years,  and,  in  a  proclamation,  he 
called  attention  to  that  provision  of  the  Constitution  of  Colombia 
which  stated  that  in  the  absence  of  congress,  the  acting  president 
performed  all  legislative  functions ;  and,  in  consequence,  he  in  his 
own  person  embodied  all  the  legislative  and  all  the  executive 
functions  of  the  state. 

I  may  mention,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  that  on  the  platform  with 
me  is  my  then  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Loomis,  who  was 
Assistant  Secretary  of  State  under  John  Hay,  and  who  knew,  more 
intimately  than  any  man  except  myself,  the  details  of  what  went  on 
in  connection  with  the  acquisition  of  the  Panama  route,  and  the 
work  of  starting  the  building  of  the  Panama  Canal ;  and,  if  my 
memory  is  in  error  at  any  point,  I  shall  ask  Mr.  Loomis  to  correct 
me. 

The  Colombian  government  then,  at  the  time  this  treaty  was 
negotiated,  was  embodied  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Maroquin;  the 
president  was  dead,  and  the  congress  never  met.  Mr.  Maroquin 
had  complete  power  ;  there  was  no  question  of  the  ratification  of  the 
treaty ;  the  power  that  made  it  was  the  power  that  could  ratify  it 
—  that  is,  if  he  chose  —  and  we  entered  into  the  treaty  on  that  dis¬ 
tinct  understanding. 

Another  point  to  which  I  wish  to  call  your  attention.  The 


THE  PANAMA  CANAL 


141 


French  Company  had  something  of  value  to  sell.  We  drove,  as 
was  our  duty,  a  hard  bargain  with  them.  I  did  not  feel  at  liberty 
to  pay,  on  behalf  of  the  United  States,  any  more  than  they  insisted 
upon  receiving  for  their  property,  and  I  could  not  have  paid  any 
more  in  any  event,  because  Congress  set  the  limit  beyond  which  I 
could  not  go.  They  gave  us  for  that  forty  million  an  equivalent, 
so  that  the  French  Company  gave  us  something  for  what  we  paid. 
But,  as  regards  Colombia,  the  entire  value  of  what  they  had  was 
created  by  our  action.  If  we  had  gone  to  Nicaragua  the  Canal 
Zone  would  not  have  been  worth  ten  dollars,  let  alone  ten  million 
dollars.  We  acquired  from  Colombia  the  right  to  spend  three 
hundred  million  dollars  in  digging  the  canal.  We  acquired  nothing 
but  the  right  to  spend  that  three  hundred  million.  From  the  French 
company  we  acquired,  for  forty  million  dollars,  I  think  I  may 
safely  say,  fifty,  sixty,  or  seventy  million  dollars’  wTorth  of  improve¬ 
ments,  of  work  done,  and  also  a  little  machinery.  From  Colombia 
we  acquired  only  the  right  to  spend  our  own  money  and  do  our 
own  labor,  and  not  a  particle  of  value  inhered  in  the  Zone,  except 
the  value  that  we  were  to  give  it  by  spending  our  money  and  our 
labor  upon  it.  It  was  of  vital  importance  to  Panama  that  the  canal 
should  be  built.  It  quadrupled,  quintupled,  multiplied  many 
times  over  the  value  of  the  Isthmus  to  the  people  as  a  whole,  and 
to  each  individual  thereof. 

As  soon  as  the  Colombian  government,  that  is,  as  soon  as  Maro- 
qufn  thought  we  were  bound,  thought  that  we  had  definitely  com¬ 
mitted  ourselves  to  the  Panama  route  and  to  the  French  Company, 
thought  that  we  had  definitely  abandoned  the  Nicaragua  route,  — 
as  soon  as  that  was  done  Maroqum  turned  and  declined  to  fulfill 
his  engagement  with  us,  and  he  suddenly  betrayed  scruples  of  con¬ 
science  about  the  Constitution.  He  said  the  Constitution  pro¬ 
hibited  the  action  he  was  about  to  take,  and  he  summoned  the 
congress  —  which  had  not  been  summoned  for  five  years  —  to 
help  him  make  up  his  mind  about  the  Constitution.  Congress 
met.  Our  Minister,  a  most  able  and  faithful  public  servant,  Mr. 
Beaupre,  was  instructed  by  John  Hay,  in  message  after  message  — 
which  I  think,  Mr.  Loomis,  you  personally  wrote  —  he  was  in¬ 
structed  by  the  Secretary  of  State  to  notify  Colombia  that  it 
would  be  a  grave  thing  if  they  failed  to  carry  out  the  agreement ; 


142 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


that  we  expected  them  to  carry  out  that  agreement.  The  trouble 
was  that,  as  happens  now  and  then,  the  dominant  politicians  in 
Colombia  completely  misestimated  their  power  and  the  power  of 
outside  nations.  A  few  years  before,  they  had  given,  or  Maroqum 
had  given,  to  the  French  Company  an  extension  of  time  in  which 
to  do  this  work  before  it  became  subject  to  forfeiture.  This  ex¬ 
tended  for  a  period  of  about  ten  years,  the  time  in  which  the  French 
Company  had  to  do  its  work.  Without  that  extension  the  time 
limit  would  have  expired  in  1904,  and  the  negotiations  which  it 
was  carrying  on  with  me,  with  the  government  at  Washington, 
were  taking  place.  In  1903  Mr.  Maroquin  suddenly  became 
afflicted  with  conscientious  scruples,  not  only  as  regards  us,  but 
as  regards  the  French  Company,  and  the  Colombian  congress 
declared  that  it  had  been  unconstitutional  to  grant  the  increase  of 
time  to  the  French  Company ;  that  that  grant  was  null,  and  that 
next  year  they  would  take  possession  of  the  French  Company’s 
belongings  on  the  Isthmus. 

Mr.  Beaupre  notified  the  State  Department  —  the  file  is  in  the 
State  Department  now  —  that  the  agent  of  the  French  Company 
at  Bogota  had  come  to  him,  the  American  Minister,  Beaupre,  and 
told  him  that  the  Colombian  authorities  had  notified  him  that 
their  constitutional  scruples  about  the  passage  of  the  treaty  could 
only  be  overcome  by  the  payment  of  ten  million  dollars  from  the 
French  Company  to  them  (the  despatches  are  on  file  in  the  State 
department  and  have  been) ;  that  they  notified  the  agent  of  the 
French  Company,  that  unless  ten  million  of  the  forty  million  that 
the  United  States  were  to  pay  the  French  Company  were  paid 
over  to  the  government  at  Bogota,  the  treaty  would  not  be  ratified  ; 
the  extension  of  time  of  the  French  Company  would  be  cancelled, 
and  the  Colombian  government  would  next  year,  in  1904,  take  pos¬ 
session  of  the  belongings  of  the  French  Company  on  the  Isthmus. 
Of  course,  France  would  not  have  permitted  that  to  be  done,  and 
if  I  had  permitted  it  to  be  done  I  would  have  found  myself  the 
following  year  faced  with  the  fact  that  one  of  the  great  military 
nations  of  the  old  world,  France,  was  in  actual  possession  of  the 
zone  through  which  the  Panama  Canal  was  to  be  dug ;  I  should 
have  had  France  on  the  Isthmus  instead  of  Colombia.  I  had  not 
the  slightest  intention  of  submitting  to  any  such  blackmailing 


THE  PANAMA  CANAL 


143 


scheme,  to  any  such  species  of  highway  robbery.  I  regarded  the 
action  of  the  Colombian  government  —  that  is  of  Mr.  Maroqmn 
and  his  subordinates  —  I  do  not  say  associates,  because  they  were 
not  associates ;  they  were  his  subordinates  —  and  his  subordinates 
as  being  equivalent  to  pure  highway  robbery,  and  I  did  not  intend 
for  one  moment  to  submit  to  it.  I  never  had  any  doubt  about  the 
question.  The  only  doubt  in  my  mind  was  as  to  the  particular 
manner  in  which  I  should  make  it  evident  that  there  was  not  to 
be  any  submission  on  my  part.  I  intended  to  have  that  canal 
dug.  I  intended  to  treat  with  the  greatest  generosity  those 
through  whose  territory  the  canal  was  to  run ;  I  intended  to  do 
justice  to  them,  and  to  exact  justice  from  them. 

We  had  previously,  many  years  previously,  entered  into  a  treaty 
with  the  power  owning  and  governing  the  Isthmus,  under  which 
we  had  covenanted  to  keep  the  strip  of  territory  across  the  Isthmus 
clear  for  purposes  of  commerce,  and  to  protect  it  from  any  assault 
from  without.  That  agreement  had  not  been  made  with  the 
Republic  of  Colombia.  It  had  been  made  with  a  predecessor  of 
Colombia  —  the  nations  were  somewhat  evanescent  in  that  neigh¬ 
borhood  —  with  a  predecessor  of  Colombia,  named  New  Granada. 
The  government  had  shifted  again  and  again  in  the  interval 
between  the  making  of  the  treaty  of  which  I  have  spoken 
and  the  crisis  in  1903.  At  one  time  Panama  itself  had  been  an 
independent  republic;  then  it  had  joined  New  Granada,  after¬ 
wards  Colombia,  as  a  state,  reserving  to  itself  in  the  Articles  of 
Confederation  the  right  of  secession.  Then  it  had  been  seized  by 
Colombia  and  held  without  regard  to  the  Articles  in  the  treaty 
under  which  it  had  joined.  Our  view  was,  and  had  consistently 
been,  as  John  Hay  phrased  it,  that  the  covenant  ran  with  the  land, 
that  we  were  not  concerned  with  the  title  by  which  the  power  in 
control  of  the  Isthmus  called  itself ;  we  were  not  concerned  whether 
it  was  New  Granada  or  Colombia  or  Panama ;  that  our  concern 
was  with  the  fact  and  not  the  name.  It  had  also  been  explicitly 
set  forth  by  various  secretaries  of  state,  including,  for  example, 
Secretary  Silas  Wright  and  Secretary  William  H.  Seward,  that  we 
guaranteed  the  protection  of  the  canal,  not  against  domestic 
revolution,  but  against  aggression  by  outside  powers.  And, 
furthermore,  it  had  been  explicitly  stated  by  the  State  Department, 


144 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


not  once,  but  again  and  again,  that  we  would  not  permit  the  power 
in  possession  of  the  Isthmus,  whatever  it  might  be,  to  bar  the 
nations  of  mankind  from  the  use  of  the  Isthmus  as  a  highway. 
That  has  been  expressly  stated  by  our  people.  Those  were  the 
words  we  had  used.  I  accepted  them  as  meaning  something,  and 
reduced  them  to  action.  The  government  with  which  we  had  to 
deal  on  the  Isthmus  had  never  been  a  government  such  as  we  are 
accustomed  to  associate  with  civilized  and  settled  peoples.  In  the 
fifty-three  years  preceding  the  crisis  of  1903  there  had  been  on  the 
Isthmus  exactly  fifty-three  revolutions,  successful  or  unsuccessful. 
On  a  dozen  different  occasions  we  had  had  to  land  troops  to  protect 
the  Isthmus  to  prevent  the  stoppage  of  traffic  across  it.  A  couple 
of  years  before  I  took  action  we  had  done  one  thing  on  the  Isthmus 
which  shows  the  exceedingly  qualified  type  of  sovereignty  which 
Colombia  enjoyed.  One  of  the  annual  revolutions  was  in  progress 
and  Colombia  wished  to  send  troops  across  the  Isthmus  on  the 
railroad.  Having  had  some  experience  with  Colombian  armies,  the 
railroad  authorities  did  not  wish  to  transport  the  troops  so  long  as 
they  were  armed.  They  appealed  to  our  naval  representatives 
—  we  had  one  or  two  ships  in  the  harbor  —  and  the  naval  com¬ 
mander  arranged  matters  by  sending  the  soldiers  without  arms  in 
one  train  under  the  guard  of  some  American  blue  jackets,  and  the 
arms  in  another  train,  also  under  the  guard  of  some  American  blue 
jackets. 

Now,  I  had  done  my  best  to  make  an  agreement  with  Colombia. 
I  might  anticipate  a  little,  just  to  show  you  the  real  worth  of 
these  constitutional  scruples  of  Mr.  Maroqum.  Remember,  he  had 
announced  that  it  was  his  devotion  to  the  Constitution  that  made 
him  determine  he  would  have  to  go  back  on  his  word  to  the  French 
Company  and  take  possession  of  the  company’s  property,  and  go 
back  on  his  word  to  us  and  refuse  to  ratify  the  treaty.  The  minute 
that  Panama  declared  itself  independent  and  I  acted  as  I  shall 
tell  you  in  a  few  minutes  I  did  act,  he  sent  General  Reyes  to 
John  Hay — Reyes  afterwards  became  President  of  Colombia — 
to  tell  him,  so  that  he  could  lay  it  before  me,  that  if  I  would  give 
back  Panama  to  them  —  that  is,  betray  the  people  of  the  Isthmus, 
who  had  stood  by  us  and  confided  in  our  faith  —  that  if  I  would 
do  that,  he  would  at  once  provide  for  the  ratification  of  the  treaty, 


THE  PANAMA  CANAL 


145 


either  by  summoning  congress,  which  he  would  guarantee  me  in 
advance  would  ratify  the  treaty,  or,  if  that  was  not  satisfactory  to 
me,  by  ratifying  the  treaty  in  accordance  with  his  constitutional 
powers,  as  exercising  all  executive  and  legislative  functions  when 
congress  was  not  present.  (Mr.  Loomis,  I  think  you  will  remember 
that  communication.  It  is  down  in  writing;  it  is  on  file  in  the 
State  Department.) 

Now,  I  had  to  decide  whether  that  “hold  up”  scheme  should  be 
successful,  or  whether  it  should  not  be  successful ;  I  had  to  decide 
whether  the  honor  and  interest  of  the  United  States  did  or  did  not 
require  me  to  permit  the  government  of  my  country  to  be  “held 
up”  and  the  French  Company  to  be  blackmailed;  and  I  decided 
that  it  did  not.  As  I  say,  I  had  exhausted  every  honorable  expedi¬ 
ent  in  trying  to  get  Colombia  to  come  to  an  agreement  with  me,  an 
agreement  with  my  government,  which  could  be  carried  out.  I 
could  not  do  it,  for  the  simple  reason  that  you  cannot  nail  currant 
jelly  to  a  wall.  The  trouble  is  not  in  the  nail ;  it  is  in  the  currant 
jelly.  All  of  the  time  the  Isthmus  was  seething  with  revolution. 
On  the  “consent  of  the  governed”  theory,  Panama  was  entitled  to 
govern  itself.  The  people  of  the  Isthmus,  the  people  of  the  Repub¬ 
lic  of  Panama,  were  being  oppressed  by  an  alien  people,  who  mis¬ 
governed  them,  for  the  interest  of  outsiders,  and  who  were  now 
jeopardizing  their  entire  future  for  corrupt  purposes.  It  has  been 
said  that  I  raised  my  hand  and  caused  revolution.  The  simile 
is  inexact.  There  were  a  dozen  fuses  always  burning  and  leading 
up  to  revolutionary  explosions  in  Panama.  I  came  to  the  conclu¬ 
sion  that  I  was  absolved  from  all  further  duty  to  stamp  out  those 
fuses.  The  government  of  the  United  States,  —  and  here,  again, 
Mr.  Loomis  is  on  the  stage  with  me,  and  he  knows  it  more  inti¬ 
mately  than  any  other  man,  living  or  dead,  except  myself,  —  the 
government  of  the  United  States  never  took  the  smallest  part, 
directly  or  indirectly,  in  fomenting  or  encouraging  any  revolu¬ 
tionary  movement  in  Panama.  Any  statement  to  the  contrary  is 
a  wicked  and  slanderous  falsehood,  to  support  which  there  is  not 
merely  no  proof,  but  not  a  particle  of  just  suspicion  can  be  adduced 
in  support  of  any  such  thing.  I  knew  that  there  were  revolution¬ 
ary  movements  on  the  Isthmus.  My  knowledge  was  gained,  in  the 
first  place,  by  reading  the  daily  press.  In  the  newspapers  —  I 


146 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 

recall  particularly  the  New  York  Herald  and  the  Washington 
Post,  but  there  were  other  newspapers,  —  in  the  newspapers  for  a 
couple  of  months  prior  to  the  actual  revolution  there  were  at  least  a 
dozen  despatches  from  the  Isthmus  about  revolutionary  movements 
that  were  supposed  to  be  on  the  point  of  breaking  out.  For  some 
reason  or  other,  the  newspapers  afterwards  gained  the  idea  that  a 
New  York  gentleman,  Mr.  Nelson  Cromwell,  had  incited  those 
revolutions,  or  some  of  those  revolutions.  I  think  that  Mr. 
Cromwell  —  I  may  do  him  an  injustice  —  was  immensely  flattered 
by  this  suspicion.  So  far  as  I  know,  he  had  no  particle  of  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  revolutionary  movement  that  resulted  in  the  overthrow 
of  the  Colombian  government  on  the  Isthmus.  He  was  on  the 
ocean  going  to  France  when  it  occurred,  that  I  know.  I  know  that 
he  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  revolution  that  took  place. 
I  believe  that  he  did  not  have  anything  to  do  with  any  movement 
that  would  have  made  a  real  revolution  on  the  Isthmus.  I  think  he 
will  resent  the  statement  that  he  did.  That  is  my  belief.  My 
special  knowledge  was  gained  from  the  report  of  two  army  officers. 
We  had  not  sent  them  to  the  Isthmus ;  they  had  been  sent  down  to 
Venezuela  to  make  a  report  on  certain  matters  in  connection  with 
Venezuela,  where  there  was  also  the  annual  trouble  brewing.  On 
their  way  back  they  stopped  at  Panama  and  when  they  returned  to 
Washington  they  reported  to  the  Lieutenant-General  of  the  Army, 
Sam  Young,  who  at  once  notified  me  that  they  had  returned,  with 
information  he  thought  they  ought  to  lay  before  me,  and  I  saw  them. 
They  told  me  that  they  had  been  on  the  Isthmus,  and  that  not  only 
were  the  inhabitants  of  the  Isthmus  a  unit,  but  that  the  Colombian 
regiment  in  garrison,  which  had  not  been  paid  for  about  a  year, 
was  a  unit  in  being  determined  to  have  a  revolution  if  the  treaty 
was  not  ratified,  and  that  they  believed  that  the  revolution  would 
break  out  almost  immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Colom¬ 
bian  congress,  without  the  ratification  of  the  treaty.  That  would 
have  made  the  revolution  take  place  about  the  first  week  of 
November.  The  two  officers  told  me  it  would  not  take  place 
before  that  date,  because  the  revolutionists  were  waiting  for 
a  consignment  of  arms  from  New  York.  Mind  you,  all  of 
these  facts  have  been  detailed  in  full  in  my  messages  to  Con¬ 
gress  ;  in  a  book  I  since  wrote ;  in  articles  I  have  written  — 


THE  PANAMA  CANAL 


147 


every  fact  connected  with  this  whole  business  has  been  published 
from  the  very  beginning. 

Every  now  and  then  during  the  past  six  years  I  have  had  some 
well-meaning  but  timid  friend  come  to  me,  with  his  hair  standing 
up,  to  tell  me  that  some  political  opponent  or  some  newspaper  — 
I  think  the  New  York  World  was  one  that  was  mentioned  —  that 
some  newspaper  correspondent;  or  some  political  opponent,  had 
found  evidence  of  damning  facts  about  the  “complicity”  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  “misconduct”  of  the  United  States,  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  Panama  revolution,  and  asked  me  what  I  was 
going  to  do  about  it ;  and  I  would  answer  that  I  was  going  to  do 
nothing  about  it,  for  the  excellent  reason  that  they  could  not  find 
out  anything,  because  there  was  not  anything  to  find  out.  When, 
during  my  term  of  service,  Congress  asked  me  for  the  documents 
in  the  case,  all  of  the  documents,  I  sent  them  down.  I  think  they 
filled  about  a  cart ;  I  forget  the  precise  amount,  but  it  was  about  a 
half  a  ton,  I  think,  of  documents  that  we  sent  down,  and  I  could  wish 
my  worst  enemy  no  more  evil  fate  than  to  be  obliged  to  read 
them. 

As  soon  as  these  two  officers  had  made  to  me  the  report  that  they 
did  make,  I  at  once  ordered  warships  to  the  Isthmus  to  protect 
persons  and  property  there.  In  doing  that  I  was  following  the 
precedent  set  by  every  President  who  had  preceded  me  in  office. 
There  was  not  a  President  (excepting,  I  think,  Mr.  Garfield,  who 
was  only  in  office  six  or  eight  months),  whose  presidency  covered  a 
term  of  years,  who  had  not  been  obliged  to  send  warships  to  the 
Isthmus  to  protect  traffic  across  the  Isthmus  and  to  protect  the 
persons  and  property  of  American  citizens.  In  this  particular  case 
the  ships  came  almost  too  late.  The  first  gunboat  arrived  just 
after  the  Colombian  regiment  had  landed  at  Colon,  and  the  com¬ 
mander  of  the  regiment  had  threatened  to  massacre  the  men, 
women  and  children,  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  other 
foreigners,  in  Colon. 

Then  again,  the  fact  is  set  forth  in  the  official  report  of  the  cap¬ 
tain  of  the  gunboat.  It  was  the  Nashville;  I  think  Hubbard  was  the 
name  of  the  officer  in  command  of  the  vessel.  He  landed  a  guard 
of  some  forty  marines,  who  formed  a  cordon  around  the  women 
and  children  in  the  houses  of  the  police,  and  prevented  any  mas- 


148 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


sacre ;  protecting  not  only  the  American  women  and  children  but 
the  women  and  children  of  other  foreign  countries.  I  was  Presi¬ 
dent,  and  the  American  women  and  children  who  were  in  danger 
were  protected  by  our  own  ships,  and  not  by  the  ships  of  any  other 
power.  The  firm  attitude  of  the  captain  of  the  Nashville  over¬ 
awed  the  Colombian  troops.  That  saved  the  lives  of  all  of  the 
women  and  children,  and  by  good-natured  diplomacy  he  persuaded 
the  Colombian  commander  to  reembark  with  his  regiment. 

Meanwhile,  the  revolution  broke  out,  with  great  enthusiasm, 
on  the  Isthmus.  Nobody  opposed  it.  No  blood  was  shed  what¬ 
ever,  excepting  that  a  Colombian  gunboat  came  up  on  the  Pacific 
side,  bombarded  Panama,  and  killed  a  disinterested  Chinaman  who 
was  looking  on  at  the  revolution. 

Now,  that  is  literally  what  happened.  It  sounds,  in  its  later 
phases,  like  a  Gilbert  and  Sullivan  opera.  But  I  have  told  you 
exactly  what  occurred.  Not  a  shot  was  fired  by  a  single  American 
sailor  or  marine  (none  of  the  army  were  down  there),  and  of  the 
shots  fired  by  the  Colombians  none  hit  anybody  except  the  poor 
Chinaman.  The  Panamanians  did  not  fire  any  more.  Nobody 
was  hurt  with  the  exception  that  I  have  mentioned. 

Now,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  had  two  courses  that  I  could  have 
pursued  when  I  was  confronted  by  that  state  of  facts.  I  have  set 
them  before  you.  You  can  turn  back  to  the  messages  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  or  the  Secretary  of  State  of  December,  1903,  and  January  and 
subsequent  months  in  1904,  and  you  will  find  them  therein  set 
forth.  You  will  find  them  set  forth  in  my  autobiography,  and  in  an 
article  I  wrote  last  January  in  the  Metropolitan;  and  not  one  fact 
that  I  have  mentioned  can  be,  or  ever  has  been,  even  questioned. 
And  not  one  fact  of  the  slightest  importance,  excepting  those  I  have 
recited  to  you,  has  ever  been  divulged,  or  ever  will  be  divulged, 
because  there  is  not  any  other  fact  to  be  divulged. 

I  could  have  met  that  situation  in  two  ways.  Ever  since  Balboa 
had  discovered  the  Isthmus,  nearly  four  centuries  before,  people 
had  talked  about  building  a  canal  across  it.  There  had  been  four 
centuries  of  conversation  on  the  subject.  I  could  have  inaugurated 
another  half  century  of  conversation  ;  I  could  have  sent  a  “masterly 
message  ”  to  Congress,  and  Congress  could  then  have  held  a  series 
of  able  debates  on  the  “masterly  message,”  in  which  case  those 


THE  PANAMA  CANAL 


149 


debates  would  now  be  intermittently  continuing,  and  the  canal 
would  be  in  the  dim  future,  without  a  spadeful  of  earth  having  been 
dug,  and  you  would  not  have  had  your  Exposition  here  at  this 
moment.  If  the  United  States  was  right  in  its  action,  then  it  is  an 
infamy  to  pay  twenty-five  million  dollars,  or  any  other  sum  to 
Colombia  ;  and  if  the  United  States  was  not  right  in  its  action,  it  is 
an  infamy  to  be  on  the  canal,  or  to  hold  this  Exposition  here,  be¬ 
cause  the  canal  has  been  filched. 

Now,  we  have  those  two  alternatives ;  either  we  did  wrong  or  we 
did  right.  If  we  did  wrong,  then  it  is  an  infamy  to  hold  an  exposi¬ 
tion  to  celebrate  the  acquisition  of  stolen  goods,  and  the  payment 
of  twenty-five  million  dollars  is  wholly  inadequate.  If  we  did 
wrong,  we  have  no  business  on  the  Isthmus,  and  you  have  no 
business  to  hold  an  exposition ;  but,  as  we  did  right  —  not  if, 
but  as  ive  did  right  —  it  is  an  infamy  to  be  blackmailed  by  the 
demands  of  bandits  who  failed  to  hold  up  “Uncle  Sam.” 

In  the  long  run  the  “sissy”  and  the  “mollycoddle”  are  as  un¬ 
desirable  members  of  society  as  the  crook  and  the  bully.  I  don’t 
like  the  crook  and  the  bully.  Don’t  misunderstand  me ;  I  will 
abate  both  of  them  when  I  get  the  chance  at  them.  But,  after  all, 
there  is  the  possibility  that  you  can  reform  the  crook  or  the  bully, 
but  you  cannot  reform  the  “sissy”  or  the  “mollycoddle,”  because 
there  is  not  anything  there  to  reform.  With  a  nation,  as  with  an 
individual,  weakness,  cowardice,  and  flabby  failure  to  insist  upon 
what  is  right,  even  if  a  certain  risk  comes  in  insisting,  may  be  as 
detrimental,  not  only  from  the  standpoint  of  the  individual  or  the 
nation,  but  from  the  standpoint  of  humanity  at  large,  as  wickedness 
itself. 

If,  at  the  crisis,  at  the  time  when  it  was  for  me  to  decide  whether 
the  Panama  Canal  should  be  built,  or  whether  the  chance  of  digging 
it  should  be  deferred  for  a  half  century  longer,  —  if  at  that  crisis 
the  government,  of  which  I  happened  then  to  be  head,  had  shown 
weakness,  it  would  have  been  exactly  as  much  a  betrayal  of  the 
rights  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  rights  of  Americans  as  if 
the  government  had  been  guilty  of  wickedness.  It  does  not  help 
you  in  the  least  to  have  avoided  Scylla  if  you  run  into  Charybdis. 
It  is  the  duty  of  every  man  in  public  life,  as  I  see  it,  who  has  to 
deal  with  the  honor  of  his  nation,  to  deal  with  it  as  he  would  with 


150 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


his  own  honor.  He  is  not  to  be  excused  if,  through  an  action  not 
done,  wrong  is  done  to  weaker  nations,  or  any  other  nation. 
Neither  is  he  to  be  excused  if,  because  of  his  action  or  inaction, 
wrong  comes  to  his  own  nation.  The  man  in  public  life  who  does 
his  full  duty  in  international  affairs  is  bound  to  see  that  his  nation 
bears  itself  towards  other  nations  as  we  expect  an  honorable  man 
to  bear  himself  in  dealing  with  his  fellows ;  that  he  shall  play  the 
part  neither  of  a  bully  nor  of  a  coward ;  that  he  shall  act  as  the 
just  man,  who  scorns  to  wrong  others,  and  who  is  able  by  his  own 
strength  and  courage  to  prevent  others  from  wronging  him. 

There  is  not  one  action  of  the  American  government,  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  foreign  affairs,  from  the  day  when  the  Constitution  was 
adopted  down  to  the  present  time,  so  important  as  the  action  taken 
by  this  government  in  connection  with  the  acquisition  and  building 
of  the  Panama  Canal.  I  am  here  to-night  to  speak  to  you,  and  I 
have  come  to  see  this  Exposition,  because  I  know  that  in  the  course 
of  that  action  every  step  taken  was  a  step  not  only  demanded  by 
the  honor  and  the  interest  of  my  country,  but  one  taken  with 
scrupulous  regard  to  the  nicest  laws  of  international  morality,  and 
fair  and  upright  dealing. 


PAPERS  READ  AT  THE  SPECIAL  SESSIONS 


THE  PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS  AND  THEIR  HISTORY 
AS  A  PART  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PACIFIC 
OCEAN  AREA 


OPENING  ADDRESS 


Leon  Maria  Guerrero 
Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

An  unmerited  preference  obliges  me  to  take  this  seat  of  honor 
for  the  purpose  of  presiding  over  one  of  the  sessions  of  the  Histori¬ 
cal  Congress  at  this  universal  exposition  in  San  Francisco,  wherein 
is  found  united,  in  an  eloquent  manifestation,  all  that  has  been 
accomplished  by  intelligence,  urged  by  an  ever-growing  eagerness 
to  inquire  into  the  unknown,  to  find  the  solution  of  the  mysteries 
which  still  obscure  the  restricted  horizon  of  our  knowledge. 

The  Historical  Congress  convoked  represents  a  further  step 
forward  in  the  investigation  of  the  past  social  history  of  humanity. 
It  is  an  advance,  even  if  only  provisional,  in  the  vast  field  of 
facts  constituting  the  teachings  that  are  to  guide  future  societies 
in  their  uncertain  march  along  the  road  of  true  civilization,  jus¬ 
tice,  and  morality. 

Someone  has  said  that  history  serves  only  the  purpose  to  teach 
us  to  know  men,  and  not  to  teach  us  to  know  man  in  the  concrete. 
Reasons  he  must  have  had  so  to  express  himself  at  the  time  when, 
perhaps,  the  study  of  history  had  not  reached  its  present  scien¬ 
tific  level.  Initiated  in  a  sphere  of  limited  extent  in  which  tradi¬ 
tion  was  the  only  source  of  knowledge,  the  history  of  the  past 
furnished  us  only  with  elements  of  that  other  science  called  so¬ 
ciology,  that  threatens  to  disappear,  so  it  is  said,  on  account  of 
the  inanity  of  its  conclusions,  at  times  based  upon  syntheses 
that  are  but  the  results  of  an  overwrought  imagination. 

Were  history  reduced  simply  to  the  narration  of  the  acts  of 
men  connected  with  an  epoch  of  the  life  of  a  people,  its  teachings 
would  be  of  little  value  for  the  improvement  of  the  species  in 
general.  This  is  well  known  to  all  men  who  have  meditated  some¬ 
what  upon  the  variability  of  facts.  True  history  penetrates 
further  into  events  and  seizes  the  essence  thereof ,  in  order  to  present 

155 


156 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


it  in  a  condensed  form  after  analyzing  the  causes  that  have  deter¬ 
mined  the  facts. 

This  work  of  the  historian  is  the  most  liable  to  great  errors 
and  immoralities,  whenever  he  allows  himself  to  be  guided  solely 
by  his  own  impressions,  and  by  the  criterion  he  may  have  formed 
to  judge  the  dead  facts  which  scarcely  appear  in  the  flesh  of  reality 
out  of  indecisions  brought  forth  by  the  disorderly  succession  of 
events,  changing  the  logical  order  of  the  pretended  periodicity  of 
certain  social  phenomena. 

Who  is  it  that  does  not  know  the  partiality  of  certain  historians 
who,  notwithstanding  the  lucidity  in  which  facts  appear,  do  not 
hesitate  to  exaggerate  or  to  belittle  them,  bulking  that  which  in 
itself  is  insignificant,  or  diminishing  that  which  from  every  point 
of  view  is  of  culminating  transcendency  ?  This  procedure  was  to 
a  certain  extent  the  natural  product  of  the  social  ambient  during 
past  periods  of  the  life  of  humanity ;  however,  it  does  not  fail  to 
recur  now  from  time  to  time,  leaving  traces  of  its  unwholesome 
influence  upon  the  minds  of  the  multitude,  which  does  not  stop  to 
delve  into  the  facts  in  order  to  reach  the  nucleus  of  truth  that  lies 
at  the  bottom  of  them  all.  Thus,  if  the  ancient  pages  of  the 
chronicles  and  so-called  histories  of  the  Philippines,  written  at  a 
time  when  the  manifestations  of  thought  had  forcibly  to  be  modeled 
upon  the  political  and  religious  standards  then  imposed  by  the 
former  sovereign  country,  are  examined,  the  insincerity  of  their 
authors  in  dealing  with  some  matters  leaps  to  the  eye,  as  does 
their  manifest  partiality  in  passing  judgment  upon  some  event, 
or  upon  some  individual  who  had  failed  to  satisfy,  by  strangling 
his  conscience,  certain  cliques  whose  only  thought  was  the  pros¬ 
perity  of  their  material  interests,  disregarding  or  intentionally 
subordinating  the  other  interests  that  dignify  humanity.  The 
historian  has  need  of  a  moral  temper  steeled  to  dominate  his  own 
passions  and  proclivities,  when  he  persists  in  heeding  the  internal 
voice  impelling  him  to  where  his  temperament  drags  him. 

History  is  a  bundle  of  facts  greatly  varied,  which  may  with  equal 
force  influence  in  a  bad  direction  as  in  a  good  one,  advantageous 
to  the  education  of  the  people.  Thus,  history  at  times  is  converted 
into  an  instrument  of  confusion  for  those  who  attempt  to  avail 
themselves  of  it  as  a  guide  in  an  intricate  labyrinth  of  contradic- 


OPENING  ADDRESS 


157 


tory  judgments,  who  cannot  find  their  way  out  it,  in  order  to  ascer¬ 
tain  the  good  or  bad  side  of  the  hero  who  is  exalted  by  some,  and 
vituperated  by  others ;  or  to  find  the  cause  justifying  the  glori¬ 
fication  of  a  rascal  by  the  accommodating  compoundings  of  an 
unscrupulous  historian.  The  immorality  flowing  from  all  this  is 
incalculable. 

The  generality  of  people  end  by  being  misled  in  their  judgments, 
and  adopt  as  a  standard  of  social  conduct  precisely  that  which 
should  be  repelled  as  contrary  to  the  constructive  tendencies  of 
society.  Our  own  generation  views  with  astonishment  the  un¬ 
looked  for  exaltation  of  certain  individuals  who  deserve  rather  the 
scorn,  if  not  the  execration,  of  their  contemporaries,  than  the  aureola 
of  celebrity  in  which  they  are  now  contemplated.  And  it  is  all 
because  the  historian  condescends  to  exalt  him  who  should  be 
trampled  into  the  mud,  and  is  unjust  to  him,  who,  despising  every 
penalty  and  sacrifice,  has  been  able  to  secure  for  his  people  all 
the  good  suggested  to  him  by  the  conscience  of  an  honorable 
citizen. 

In  this  way,  history  infects  souls  with  germs  of  corruption, 
by  habituating  them  to  false  judgments  and  to  pliant  estimations 
ending  in  a  sterilizing  scepticism ;  the  moral  mission  of  history 
consists  in  presenting  to  us  man  as  he  is,  as  he  influences  as  a 
decisive  factor  the  destinies  of  his  people,  without  artificial  de¬ 
formities,  and  without  dwindling  the  merits  which  make  him  worthy 
of  the  love  of  posterity,  nor  adorning  him  with  ridiculous  tinsel, 
if  his  conduct  is  unworthy  to  be  presented  in  the  annals  of  a  com¬ 
munity  by  making  a  giant  out  of  pygmy,  by  the  process  of  pil¬ 
ing  upon  him  fantastic  virtues  and  qualifications. 

History  will,  with  time,  be  plucked  of  what  still  remains  to 
it,  of  a  simple  heap  of  facts  of  difficult  coordination,  and  of  a  tire¬ 
some  list  of  men,  in  whom  there  can  scarcely  be  divined  any  mean¬ 
ing  worthy  of  the  scrutiny  of  the  thinker,  to  be  converted  into 
a  synopsis  of  the  dynamics  of  the  human  race,  relegating  individuals 
to  a  second  place,  to  be  considered  only  according  to  the  reach 
that  their  social  activities  may  have  had  in  the  development  of  a 
group  desirous  of  its  improvement.  Thus  will  history  be  trans¬ 
formed  into  a  moralizing  instrument  by  giving  space  in  its  pages 
to  the  useful  residuum  of  the  facts,  and  to  the  true  spirit  of  the  men 


158 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


who  have  accomplished  them,  with  various  designs,  in  obedience 
to  circumstancial  instigations. 

Can  all  that  has  occurred  to  me  on  this  occasion  as  regards  the 
demoralizing  influence  that  history  exercises  on  the  masses  when 
it  does  not  embody  sincerity  and  justice,  be  applied  to  those  first 
men  who  attempted  to  compile  the  facts  and  to  pass  judgment  on 
the  men  in  relation  thereto  in  the  Philippines?  I  have  herein¬ 
before  pointed  out  something  in  relation  to  this  and  to  the 
causes  which  compelled  the  narrations  to  be  presented  in  a  veiled 
form,  on  occasion,  and  in  an  almost  distorted  manner,  at  other 
times.  If  this  is  so,  cannot  the  investigator  of  the  day  do  without 
those  documents  of  the  past?  No,  for  they  are  the  only  relics 
which  remain  to  us  in  order  to  be  able  to  understand  the  gradual 
development  of  those  Islands,  and  to  explain  certain  features  of 
a  social  state  which  still  prevails.  It  may  be  said  that  with  only 
such  means,  historical  investigation  would  be  deprived  of  any  cer¬ 
tain  basis  for  a  conclusion ;  but  certain  facts  remain  which,  though 
distorted,  reveal  that  intimate  essence  always  perceptible  to  him 
who  knows  how  to  clear  away  that  which  obscures,  in  any  field 
that  encloses  something  of  interest. 

The  theme  which  falls  to  the  lot  of  this  section  of  the  Congress 
is  not  so  easy  and  plain,  for  in  order  to  determine  historically  the 
area  of  relations  sustained  amongst  the  nations,  who  from  the 
remotest  time  have  ploughed  the  Pacific  Ocean  seeking  commercial 
transactions,  basing  their  actions  solely  on  reports  too  abstract 
at  times,  and  too  vague  almost  always,  is  not  an  easy  task,  and, 
consequently,  is  one  reserved  to  those  privileged  talents  that  are 
expert  in  discovering  an  indication  which  serves  to  reconstruct 
all  of  the  past  obscured  by  the  bulk  made  by  contradictory  reports. 

So  far  as  the  Philippines  are  concerned,  their  relations  with 
Mexico  were  set  up  on  the  coast  bathed  by  the  Pacific,  at  a  time 
when  the  conquest  of  the  Malay  country  was  scarcely  consoli¬ 
dated  ;  for  it  was  in  1527,  when,  for  the  first  time,  an  expedition 
left  Mexico  for  the  Philippines,  with  the  purpose  of  satisfying  the 
wishes  of  the  King  of  Spain  to  conquer  the  Moluccas.  Thence¬ 
forward,  it  may  be  said,  Spanish  ships  continued  regularly  to 
cross  the  mighty  ocean  that  lies  between  the  Philippine  Archi¬ 
pelago  and  the  Port  of  Acapulco. 


OPENING  ADDRESS 


159 


I  do  not  desire  to  continue  with  this  subject,  which  is  not  a 
matter  to  be  dealt  with  in  a  few  paragraphs,  for  my  only  object  is 
to  initiate  the  task  of  the  Congress  that,  I  doubt  not,  will  bring 
forth  its  fruit  at  a  not  distant  day,  inasmuch  as  on  this  occasion 
there  are  congregated  the  specialists  of  the  science  of  history, 
which,  fortunately,  has  already  entered  on  the  way  of  methods 
and  procedures  more  congruous  to  the  end  sought,  —  which  is,  to 
make  of  history  the  expression  of  all  the  activities  of  human  life. 


SOCIAL  STRUCTURE  OF,  AND  IDEAS  OF  LAW  AMONG, 
EARLY  PHILIPPINE  PEOPLES ;  AND  A  RE¬ 
CENTLY  DISCOVERED  PREHISPANIC  CRIMINAL 
CODE  OF  THE  PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS 

James  A.  Robertson 

The  code  which  is  given  below,  and  which  is  really  the  excuse 
for  this  paper,  forms  part  of  a  manuscript  written  during  the  years 
1837  and  1838  by  a  Spanish  friar,  Jose  Maria  Pavon,  who  was  sta¬ 
tioned  for  some  years  in  the  town  of  Himamaylan  in  the  province 
of  Occidental  Negros.  Pavon’s  manuscript,  which  will  be  pub¬ 
lished  entire  in  the  near  future,  is  entitled  “The  ancient  legends 
of  the  Island  of  Negros,  in  which  are  related  the  peculiarities  and 
superstitions  of  the  Indios  of  this  Island  of  Negros,  according  to 
my  experience,  and  as  they  have  been  told  me,  and  as  I  have  seen 
them.”  It  was  sent  to  the  Philippine  Library  at  Manila  by  Mr. 
Jose  E.  Marco,  whose  zeal  and  enthusiasm  in  the  preservation  of 
historical  materials  relating  to  the  Philippine  Islands  is  most 
commendable,  and  alas,  only  too  rare. 

The  entire  manuscript  will  prove  of  great  value  to  students  of 
Philippine  history.  With  its  numerous  references  to  the  period 
antedating  the  Spanish  discovery  of  the  Philippines  in  1521,  it 
will  be  found  to  aid  in  the  reconstruction  of  what  has  fittingly 
been  termed  the  “prehistoric  epoch”  of  those  islands.  The  code, 
which  occupies  pages  52-63  of  Pavon’s  first  volume,  is  the  only 
early  written  codification  of  laws  which  has  so  far  come  to  light 
in  the  Philippines.  The  Moro  codes  reproduced  by  Saleeby  in 
his  excellent  Moro  History  and  Law  (Manila,  1905)  date  from  no 
farther  back  than  the  eighteenth  century  (according  to  the  earliest 
time  that  can  be  assigned  for  their  compilation)  and,  besides  being 
written  in  the  Arabic  characters,  show  considerable  Arabic  and 

160 


AN  OLD  PHILIPPINE  CODE 


161 


Mohammedan  influence.  Pavon’s  code  dates  from  before  the 
middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  was  translated  for  him  into 
Spanish  from  the  original  Bisayan  manuscript.  Its  authenticity 
can  scarcely  be  questioned,  for  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the 
ancestors  of  the  present  Filipinos  had  their  own  system  of  writing 
long  before  the  Spanish  discovery,  and  that  their  culture  had 
advanced  into  the  highest  stage  of  barbarism  or  (and  more  prob¬ 
ably)  the  lower  stages  of  civilization,  possibly  partly  through 
contact  with  the  Chinese,  with  whom  they  had  carried  on  an  inter¬ 
mittent  trade  for  centuries,  and  partly,  perhaps,  through  contact 
with  the  peoples  of  Asia  to  the  west  of  China.  Their  state  of 
culture  seems  certainly  to  have  been  in  advance  of  that  of  the 
present  Mangians  of  Mindoro  and  the  Tagbanwas  of  Palawan, 
both  of  whom  have  their  own  systems  of  writing  which  closely 
resemble  that  of  the  ancient  Filipinos.  The  authenticity  of 
Pavon’s  code  is  still  further  attested  by  the  fact  that  much  of  his 
material  checks  up  with  the  known  data  from  other  sources,  while 
the  Philippine  Library  actually  possesses  three  old  manuscripts 
written  in  the  Bisayan  characters  on  the  old  materials  —  the  only 
ones  which  have  come  to  light  during  the  American  administra¬ 
tion  of  the  Philippines  —  which  it  is  strongly  suspected  were  used 
by  Pavon. 

The  early  missionaries  to  the  Philippines,  as  those  in  Mexico, 
were  prone  to  regard  the  ancient  writings  equally  with  the  objects 
used  in  such  worship  as  was  practised  by  the  native  peoples  as 
works  of  the  evil  one,  hence  they  often  ruthlessly  destroyed  these 
signs  of  culture  whenever  and  wherever  found.  What  little  was 
preserved  by  early  Spanish  writers,  such  as  the  laymen  Povedano 
(an  encomendero,  whose  account  of  1572  has  recently  been  dis¬ 
covered  and  will  soon  be  published),  Loarca,  and  Morga,  and  the 
Augustinian  Rada,  the  Franciscan  Plasencia,  the  Jesuit  Chirino, 
and  other  religious,  is  very  valuable  to  the  student  of  Philippine 
history.  Especially  are  the  three  Bisayan  manuscripts  above 
mentioned  of  inestimable  value.  Pavon,  who  wrote  in  the  nine¬ 
teenth  century,  and  who  appears  to  have  been  an  observer  and 
historian  first,  and  a  priest  second  (much  as  George  Borrow  was 
a  colporteur  because  that  occupation  furnished  a  vent  for  his 
adventurous  disposition),  and  thus  of  a  different  stripe  from  the 

M 


162 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


majority  of  his  confreres,  evidently  made  wide  use  of  the  prestige 
of  his  position  to  gather  data  for  his  writings.  His  curiosity  was 
boundless,  and  he  appears  to  have  taken  every  possible  occasion 
to  satisfy  it.  That  his  writings  did  not  meet  with  the  favor  of  his 
superiors  is  seen  by  his  complaint  at  the  end  of  the  second  volume 
of  his  “  Legends,”  to  the  effect  that  they  unjustly  censured  his 
books  and  refused  to  allow  them  to  be  published. 

The  Bisayan  Islands,  that  group  of  the  Philippines  lying  roughly 
between  Luzon  and  Mindanao,  probably  contain  more  vestiges 
of  the  early  culture  of  Philippine  peoples  than  any  other  region 
in  the  archipelago,  although  it  is  true  that  there  is  not  a  single 
island  of  any  size  in  the  Philippines  in  which  considerable  data 
for  the  reconstruction  of  the  old  history  may  not  be  gleaned  if 
sufficient  care  and  industry  be  observed.  In  the  Bisayan  group 
there  are  still  many  old  burial  caves  which  await  thorough  explora¬ 
tion,  and  these  will  doubtless  yield  much  information.  Then,  too, 
as  Pavon  has  proved,  many  things  may  be  learned  by  direct  ob¬ 
servation  and  contact  with  the  people.  However,  the  older 
generation,  which  had  more  or  less  perfectly  preserved  their  old 
stories  and  customs,  is  rapidly  giving  place  to  a  new  generation 
with  a  training  far  different  from  that  of  the  former,  and  the  col¬ 
lection  of  the  oral  traditions  is  becoming  more  difficult  day  by 
day.  There  is  a  pressing  need  for  personal  investigation  by 
many  persons  under  competent  direction  if  the  best  results  are  to 
be  obtained. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  code  presented  below  is,  as  stated 
above,  the  only  early  native  code  that,  so  far  as  known,  has  been 
preserved  in  the  form  in  which  it  was  promulgated,  by  no  means 
are  we  entirely  ignorant  of  native  law  and  native  procedure. 
Fortunately,  Loarca,  Plasencia,  and  other  early  writers  have 
preserved  for  us  some  of  the  salient  features  of  the  social  life  of  the 
early  Malayan  peoples  of  the  Philippines  and,  among  other  inter¬ 
esting  data,  present  considerable  material  respecting  their  customs, 
laws,  and  legal  status.  A  few  brief  notes  regarding  these  may 
not  be  amiss. 

The  chief  sources  of  printed  information  are  several  of  the  old 
Spanish  writers,  both  civil  officials  and  members  of  the  religious 
corporations.  Since  some  of  these  men  wrote  soon  after  the  begin- 


AN  OLD  PHILIPPINE  CODE 


163 


ning  of  Spanish  colonization  in  the  Philippines,  it  must  be  inferred 
that  they  had  excellent  opportunities  for  investigation,  for  the 
old  customs  and  manners  of  living  of  the  natives,  as  well  as  their 
beliefs,  persisted,  as  one  might  expect,  either  in  whole  or  in  part, 
even  in  the  face  of  the  Christian  religion  offered  by  the  mission¬ 
aries.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  persistence  of  custom  that  permitted 
Pavon  to  write  a  great  deal  of  his  interesting  work.1 

The  tabu,  of  course,  exercised  considerable  influence  upon  the 
lives  of  all  early  Malayans,  whether  inhabiting  the  Philippines 
or  elsewhere,  and  that  influence  necessarily  extended  somewhat 
to  the  laws  by  which  those  peoples  governed  themselves.  This  is 
hardly  the  place,  however,  to  make  a  study  of  the  tabu  and  its 
effect  on  the  laws  in  force  among  the  early  Philippine  peoples, 
interesting  as  that  might  be.2  By  no  means,  it  should  be  pointed 

1  Several  of  the  most  important  of  the  old  writers  who  touch  on  law  are  the 
following.  Their  works  will  be  found  in  English  translation,  either  in  whole  or  in 
part,  in  Blair  and  Robertson,  The  Philippine  Islands :  1493-1898  (Cleveland,  1903- 
1909).  In  later  citations  the  above  work  will  be  designated  as  B.  and  R. 

1.  Miguel  Loarca,  a  Spanish  soldier  and  encomendero  in  the  island  of  Panay. 
His  account  was  written  by  order  of  the  governor  about  the  year  1580,  and  is  en¬ 
titled  “Relation  of  the  Philippine  Islands.”  Both  Spanish  and  English  in  B.  and 
R.,  vol.  5,  pp.  34-187.  This  is  an  excellent  and  intelligently  written  report  through¬ 
out. 

2.  Juan  Plasencia,  a  Franciscan  friar,  who  compiled  his  three  reports  at  the 
order  of  the  governor  as  an  aid  in  the  governing  of  Spain’s  new  subjects.  The 
titles  of  these  reports  are  as  follows : 

(а)  “Customs  of  the  Tagalogs.”  In  B.  and  R.,  vol.  7,  pp.  173-185. 

(б)  “Relation  of  the  worship  of  the  Tagalogs,  their  gods,  and  their  burials  and 
superstitions.”  In  B.  and  R.,  vol.  7,  pp.  185-196. 

(c)  “Instructions  regarding  the  customs  which  the  natives  of  Pampanga  formerly 
observed  in  their  lawsuits.”  In  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  pp.  321-329. 

3.  Antonio  de  Morga,  chief  justice  of  the  criminal  court  of  Manila.  His  book  is 
entitled  Events  of  the  Philippine  Islands  (Mexico,  1609).  In  B.  and  R.,  vols.  15 
and  16.  A  portion  of  the  eighth  chapter  deals  with  the  legal  status  of  the  Fili¬ 
pinos.  Morga  was  one  of  the  best  lawyers  who  ever  served  in  the  Philippines,  and 
was,  moreover,  a  remarkably  good  observer. 

4.  Francisco  Colin,  a  Jesuit  missionary  in  the  Philippines.  Those  portions  of 
his  work  Labor  evangSlica  (Madrid,  1663)  which  treat  of  the  peoples  of  the  Philip¬ 
pines  are  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  40,  pp,  37-98,  under  the  title,  “Native  races.” 

5.  Francisco  Combes,  a  Jesuit  missionary  of  the  southern  islands.  Those  por¬ 
tions  of  his  work,  Historia  de  Mindanao,  Jolo,  etc.  (Madrid,  1667),  which  treat  of 
the  people  of  the  Philippines,  are  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  40,  pp.  99-182,  under  the  title 
“Natives  of  Southern  Islands.”  This  book  contains  much  useful  information 
concerning  the  Moros. 

6.  Francisco  de  San  Antonio,  a  Franciscan  missionary  in  the  Philippines.  Those 
portions  of  his  book,  Chrdnicas  (Manila,  1738-1744),  which  treat  of  the  people 
of  the  Philippines  are  in  B.  and  R.,  pp.  296-373,  under  the  title  “Native  Peoples 
and  their  Customs.”  San  Antonio  evidently  copied  much  of  his  information  from 
Colin. 

2  See  Frazer,  James  George,  The  Golden  Bough,  10  vols.  London,  1907-1914. 
Tabu  is  treated  in  vol.  2. 


164 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


out,  was  the  tabu  entirely  a  creation  of  superstition,  and  its  “  thou 
shalt  not”  often  touched  matters  of  deep  import.  Necessarily, 
in  any  discussion  of  the  laws  of  the  peoples  of  the  Philippines, 
much  must  be  said  of  custom,  for  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  cus¬ 
tom  often  hardens  into  law,  as  is  noted  by  Saleeby  in  the  work 
above  cited. 

At  the  time  of  the  Spanish  colonization,  the  ancestors  of  the 
eight  peoples  now  known  as  Filipinos,  who  had  come  to  the  archi¬ 
pelago  in  various  waves  of  immigration,  namely,  the  Tagalog, 
the  Bikol,  the  Pampango,  the  Pangasinan,  the  Sambal,  the  Ilokano, 
the  Ibanag  (all  in  Luzon),  and  the  Bisaya  (representing  various 
groups  speaking  as  many  dialects  of  one  language,  and  inhabiting 
the  Bisayan  Islands),  were  found  living  under  laws  more  or  less 
alike.  Of  them  all  the  Tagalog  were  the  most  highly  organized, 
but  some  at  least  of  the  Bisaya,  and  some  of  the  other  peoples, 
had  also  advanced  sufficiently  to  have  their  own  systems  of  writ¬ 
ing.  Society  was  divided  into  three  general  classes  —  the  chiefs, 
or  ruling  class,  the  freemen,  and  the  slaves.  The  political  struc¬ 
ture  rested  on  the  family  as  a  unit.  The  peculiar  communal  or¬ 
ganization,  the  barangay  (so  called  because  the  first  people  form¬ 
ing  a  barangay  were  supposed  to  have  come  to  the  Philippines  in 
a  boat  by  that  name) ,  was  theoretically  composed  of  the  head  of  a 
family,  his  relatives  and  dependents,  and  their  slaves.  The  chief’s 
power  varied  according  to  his  family,  wealth,  and  personal  quali¬ 
ties.  A  number  of  barangay,  each  of  which  had  its  own  chief, 
might  be  located  in  the  same  town,  and  might  all  be  subordinate 
to  a  still  higher  chief ;  or  a  chief’s  influence  might  extend  over 
more  than  one  town.  The  people  of  one  barangay  might  be  hostile 
to  those  of  another,  even  in  the  same  town.  Hostility  and  dis¬ 
trust  of  strangers  not  in  a  certain  immediate  proximity  were  not 
unnatural  qualities,  and  were  by  no  means  absent  from  the  Euro¬ 
peans  of  that  epoch,  as  witness  the  hostility  of  the  Spanish  and  the 
French  in  Florida,  or  of  the  Spanish  and  the  Portuguese  in  the 
Orient.  Friendship  outside  the  immediate  circle  might  be  made  by 
the  peculiar  Malay  ceremony  of  drinking  blood-brotherhood,  and 
once  that  was  done,  the  stranger  was  as  safe  as  he  who  ate  salt 
with  the  Arab,  and  it  was  esteemed  dishonorable  and  treacherous 
to  break  faith  after  such  a  ceremony.  Indeed,  the  ceremony  ol 


AN  OLD  PHILIPPINE  CODE 


165 


drinking  blood-brotherhood  is  the  beginning  of  a  system  of  inter¬ 
national  law  among  the  early  Filipinos. 

This  loose  system  of  community  interest  was  not  thoroughly 
understood  by  the  Spanish  colonists,  who  looked  for  a  strong 
central  ruler,  but  finding  none,  were  prone  to  accuse  the  natives 
of  living  in  a  state  somewhat  akin  to  anarchy.  Accordingly,  we 
find  such  expressions  as  “The  inhabitants  of  these  islands  are  not 
subjected  to  any  law,  king,  or  lord” ;  “The  people  do  not  act  in 
concert”;  and  “There  is  little  justice  and  reason  among  the 
natives.”  1 

However,  the  conquerors  found  that  trade  and  other  relations 
existed  more  or  less  loosely  among  the  various  communities  and 
peoples.  There  was  found,  too,  what  has  been  found  in  so  many 
other  parts  of  the  world,  namely,  the  oppression  and  curtailment 
of  the  activities  of  the  uplanders  by  the  more  astute  lowlanders, 
with  the  consequent  hostility  of  the  former  and  the  raiding  of 
the  lowlands  whenever  opportunity  offered.2  But  more  important 
for  the  sake  of  the  present  study,  we  find  that  all  the  early  peoples 
of  the  Philippines  had  an  idea  of  law  and  that  they  recognized 
certain  crimes  and  imposed  penalties  for  infraction  of  their  ordi¬ 
nances  or  customs. 

Coordinate  with  what  organized  government  existed,  and,  in 
fact,  interwoven  with  every  act  of  daily  life,  was  religion.  This 
was  animistic,  and  abounded  in  superstitions  and  fantastic  beliefs, 
although  there  are  certain  elements  that  can  be  defended  because 
of  their  utility  and  common  sense.  Religion  joined  at  least  with 
other  factors  in  creating  custom  and  law,  and  the  tabu  itself  was 
largely  religious.  Among  the  Tagalog,  the  priest  or  officiator 
was  known  as  katalona,  and  among  the  Bisaya,  as  baylan,  babaylan, 
or  tagalona,  and  this  person  might  be  of  either  sex.  The  functions 
of  the  office  were  the  exorcism  of  evil  spirits,  the  calling  of  good 
spirits,  the  care  of  the  sick,  the  production  of  charms  for  various 
purposes,  the  sacrifice  of  hogs  and  chickens,  and  all  the  varied 
duties  that  are  generally  ascribed  to  the  holy  men  of  peoples  of  the 
cultural  condition  of  the  early  Filipinos. 

1  B.  and  R.,  vol.  3.  p.  54,  and  p.  264. 

*  “  One  class  includes  those  who  live  along  the  coast,  the  other  class  those  who 
live  in  the  mountains ;  and  if  peace  reign  among  them,  it  is  because  they  depend 
upon  each  other.”  (Loarca,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  5,  p.  121.) 


166 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Among  the  crimes  recognized  were  murder,  theft,  adultery,  and 
other  crimes  of  passion,  debt,  insulting  words  and  actions  (espe¬ 
cially  against  chiefs  and  influential  men  and  women),  and  the 
breaking  of  tabu.  Among  penalties  were  death  by  various  methods, 
mutilation,  slavery,  fines,  and  imprisonment.  But  every  crime, 
murder  included,  might  be  atoned  for  by  a  fine. 

In  their  daily  life,  all  simple  activities  were  more  or  less  covered 
by  laws  which  were,  as  has  been  suggested,  largely  the  outgrowth 
of  custom.  The  Bisaya  believed  that  their  laws  had  been  given 
by  a  mythical  woman,  Lubluban,  and  that  the  chiefs  were  the 
defenders  and  executors  of  those  laws.1  But  this  is  merely  a  semi¬ 
religious  explanation  of  custom.  It  suggests,  however,  that  the 
social  structure  of  chiefs  and  nobles,  commoners  or  freemen,  and 
slaves,  called  for  certain  rules  of  conduct.  A  few  additional  words 
on  each  of  these  three  classes  may  not  be  out  of  place  at  this  point. 

The  native  word  for  “chief”  which  was  most  commonly 
employed  was  datu  or  dato,  and  this  word  is  still  in  constant 
use.  The  word  hari  was  occasionally  used  and  is  generally  trans¬ 
lated  “  king.”  Among  the  Tagalog,  maginoo  was  sometimes  used 
in  place  of  datu.  The  Spaniards,  in  addition  to  the  above 
words,  spoke  of  the  chiefs  as  rey  (king),  regulo  and  reyesuelo 
(petty  king),  and  'principal  (which  might  refer  either  to  the 
head  of  a  community  or  to  one  of  the  principal  men,  who 
because  of  his  descent,  wealth,  or  force  of  character  had  a 
voice  in  affairs).  Rey,  regxdo,  and  reyesuelo  were  terms  generally 
used  to  designate  a  chief  whose  jurisdiction  extended  over  more 
than  one  community  or  town.  Datu  might  refer  either  to  the 
chief  of  a  single  community  or  to  the  recognized  head  of  a  consid¬ 
erable  district.  Although  principal  might  refer,  as  above  seen, 
to  a  community  chief,  the  plural  form  principales  was  more  often 
employed  to  designate  the  principal  persons  below  the  chief,  and 
the  word  principalia  the  body  formed  by  such  persons.  It  must 
constantly  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  terminology  employed  is 
very  loose  and  vague. 

Chiefs  inherited  in  the  male  line,  and  if  there  were  no  male 
issue  in  the  direct  line  the  chieftainship  was  given  to  the  brother 
of  the  deceased  chief  or  collateral  relatives.  All  male  descendants 
1  See  Loarca,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  5,  p.  141. 


AN  OLD  PHILIPPINE  CODE 


167 


of  chiefs  who  did  not  become  chiefs,  as  well  as  all  female  descend¬ 
ants,  were  numbered  among  the  principalia.  The  history  of  the 
Philippines  does  not  lack  instances  of  men  becoming  chiefs  because 
of  their  wealth  and  ability,  although  they  had  not  been  born  into 
the  chieftain  class. 

Numerous  instances  in  the  history  of  the  Philippines  prove 
that  the  power  of  the  chief  was  no  shadowy  unreality,  but  a  recog¬ 
nizable  quantity,  and  that  it  was  always  taken  into  account  in 
all  matters  affecting  the  community,  either  in  its  internal  or  ex¬ 
ternal  relations.  The  same  Spanish  civil  officials  and  missionaries 
who  denied  the  power  of  the  chief  and  the  lack  of  government, 
frequently  contradicted  themselves.  Their  difficulty  was  one  of 
perspective  and  the  inability  to  grasp  a  standard  of  government 
other  than  the  European  system,  with  which  they  were  more 
or  less  perfectly  acquainted.  I  am  quite  aware  of  the  ineffective¬ 
ness  and  indirection  of  the  government  that  existed  among  the 
early  Philippine  peoples  for  anything  beyond  the  smaller  projects 
of  the  community,  village,  or  confederation  of  villages,  but  we  are 
dealing  with  the  genesis  of  peoples  who  were  entering  into  the 
ranks  of  civilization,  the  type  of  which  was  Oriental.  The  old 
accounts  show  that  there  were  various  grades  of  chiefs ;  that  each 
chief  exercised  in  his  own  district  an  authority  that  was  often 
absolute ;  that  the  chief  was  the  prime  maker  and  executor  of 
the  laws ;  that  he  enjoyed  certain  perquisites ;  and  that  he 
was  obliged  on  his  side  to  watch  over  the  best  interests  of 
his  people.1 

As  one  would  suppose,  the  great  majority  of  the  people  was 
composed  of  freemen  or  commoners.  These  were  known  as 
timagua  or  timaua  among  some  of  the  peoples.  They  usually 
held  their  land  as  a  largesse  from  their  chief.  In  return,  though 
they  paid  the  chief  no  fixed  sum,  they  were  obliged  to  accompany 
him  to  war  at  their  own  expense,  to  row  for  him,  and  to  perform 
other  acts  of  personal  service.  The  timagua,  according  to  Morga,2 
paid  a  tribute  to  the  chief  from  their  crops,  and  the  latter  enjoyed 
a  monopoly  of  the  fisheries  as  well,  for  the  use  of  which  he  received 
some  return.  As  above  seen,  the  chief  owed  certain  duties  to  his 

1  See  B.  and  R. :  vol.  5,  pp.  141,  175-177  (Loarca) ;  vol.  16,  p.  322  (Plasencia) ; 
vol.  16,  pp.  119-120  (Morga). 

*  In  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  p.  119. 


168 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


people,  such  as  protection  from  outside  aggression,  the  preserva¬ 
tion  of  harmony,  the  equitable  sentencing  of  suits,  and  their 
general  well-being.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  usually  abused  his 
authority  and  tyrannized  over  the  timagua,  disposing  of  their 
service  as  if  they  were  chattels.  He  could  enslave  any  of  them 
at  any  time,  and  could  inflict  hardships  at  will.  Very  early  the 
Spaniards  began  to  employ  the  American  word  cacique  when 
speaking  of  the  leaders,  and  this  word  has  survived  even  to  the 
present  time  and  is  in  constant  use.  Indeed,  the  power  of  the 
leader  among  the  ignorant  people  is  still  almost  as  great  if  not 
actually  as  great  as  at  the  time  of  Spanish  colonization.  The 
unbridled  power  and  baleful  influence  of  the  cacique  is,  however, 
doomed,  and  is  giving  way  before  the  advance  of  education.  This 
power  of  the  cacique  might  be  compared  to  that  of  the  American 
political  boss,  with  the  prerogatives  of  the  latter  raised  to  the 
highest  degree. 

The  slave  class  offers  to  the  historian  in  certain  of  its  features 
perhaps  the  most  interesting  phases  of  Philippine  life.  The  laws 
by  which  slavery  was  governed  were  very  definite,  and  the  insti¬ 
tution  was  well  crystallized.  The  system  was  remarkably  mild, 
and  bears  favorable  comparison  in  more  than  one  direction  with 
the  system  of  slavery  that  grew  up  in  the  United  States. 

A  person  might  become  a  slave  by  forced  seizure  as  the  result 
of  war  or  feud,  because  of  debt  or  crime,  or  through  heredity 
which  might  arise  from  any  of  the  preceding  forms.  It  has  been 
stated  that  slavery  for  debt  is  still  existent  among  the  Christian 
Filipinos,  though  this  is  denied  by  the  Filipinos  themselves.  A 
recent  law  has  been  passed  forbidding  slavery  in  any  form  in  the 
Philippine  Islands.1 

Slavery  by  forced  seizure  was  no  whit  different  in  origin  than 
the  same  system  wherever  it  has  been  practised.  The  Moham¬ 
medan  Moros  were  much  given  to  enslavement  by  capture,  al¬ 
though  it  was  practised  more  or  less  by  all  early  Philippine  peoples. 
Until  almost  the  end  of  Spanish  domination,  the  Moros  were 
accustomed  to  swoop  down  upon  the  defenseless  Filipino  towns, 

1  See  the  recent  pamphlet  by  the  former  Secretary  of  the  Interior  for  the  Philip¬ 
pine  Islands,  Dean  C.  Worcester,  and  the  reply  to  it  made  by  the  Philippine 
Assembly. 


AN  OLD  PHILIPPINE  CODE 


169 


whence  they  carried  off  large  numbers  of  the  people  as  a  legitimate 
part  of  their  booty. 

In  the  case  of  slavery  for  debt,  the  luckless  debtor  was  by  Malay 
law  entitled  to  his  freedom  upon  payment  of  the  principal  with 
the  usurious  interest  charged.  This  bears  a  distinct  resemblance 
to  the  indenture  system  or  to  peonage.  It  happened  very  often 
that  neither  the  debtor  nor  his  family  could  meet  the  obligation, 
in  great  measure  because  of  the  accumulating  compound  usurious 
interest.  As  a  consequence,  if  the  debt  had  not  been  settled  at 
the  death  of  the  original  debtor,  his  family  became  slaves  as  a 
surety  for  the  amount,  and  in  this  way  the  slavery  often  became 
hereditary. 

The  early  Philippine  peoples  were  very  reluctant  to  impose 
the  death  penalty,  although  it  can  not  be  said  that  they  were  espe¬ 
cially  squeamish  about  the  taking  of  human  life.  Consequently, 
crimes  which  by  their  laws  merited  death  could  generally  be 
atoned  for  by  payment  of  a  fine,  or  in  lieu  of  that  by  slavery. 
Some  crimes  were  directly  punishable  by  slavery,  and  at  times 
not  only  of  the  culprit  but  of  his  relatives  and  household. 

The  status  of  slaves  is  interesting.  There  were  different  degrees 
of  slavery,  each  of  which  was  governed  by  its  own  special  laws. 
Some  slaves  were  for  the  work  of  the  house  and  others  for  the 
fields.  Some  could  be  sold  at  will,  but  others  could  not  legally 
be  sold.  The  slave  generally  lived  on  terms  of  easy  familiarity 
with  his  master,  and  often  seemed  a  part  of  the  family.  Still 
the  power  of  the  master  over  the  slave  was  paramount.  Any 
master  might  punish  or  even  kill  his  slave  without  any  inquiry 
being  made.  Slaves  might  own  and  accumulate  property,  and 
might  purchase  their  freedom.  Their  duty  to  their  masters  did 
not  necessarily  take  all  their  time,  and  they  were  often  able  to  ac¬ 
quire  considerable  wealth.  A  slave  might  marry  a  slave  of  the 
same  or  of  another  master,  or  a  free  person.  The  children  born 
to  slaves  of  different  masters  belonged  equally  to  each  master. 
If  there  were  but  one  child,  he  belonged  equally  to  each  master. 
If  there  were  an  even  number  of  children,  one-half  belonged  to 
each  master.  If  there  were  an  odd  number,  the  last  child  belonged 
equally  to  the  two  masters.  Children  born  to  a  slave  and  a  free 
person  were  half  free  and  half  slave.  If  there  were  but  one  child, 


170 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


he  was  half  free  and  half  slave.  If  there  were  two,  one  was  free 
and  the  other  a  slave,  and  consequently,  if  an  even  number,  one- 
half  were  free  and  one-half  slave.  If  the  number  were  odd,  the 
last  child  was  half  free  and  half  slave.  By  the  logical  following 
out  of  this  system,  the  proportion  of  slave  blood  might  become 
infinitesimal,  or  just  the  opposite.  Morga  states  that  if  a  man  had 
children  by  an  unmarried  slave  woman  belonging  to  him,  he  was 
bound  to  free  both  her  and  her  children  by  virtue  of  the  mother¬ 
hood.  In  all  this  it  will  be  noted  that  there  was  no  “following  of 
the  womb”  as  in  African  slavery  as  practiced  in  America.1 

This  slight  review  of  the  social  structure  shows  conclusively 
that  the  chiefs  with  their  families  and  relatives  formed  a  privileged 
class.  Custom,  enforced  by  law,  was  primarily  in  their  favor. 
The  laws,  as  has  been  seen,  were  made  by  the  chiefs,  who  also 
caused  them  to  be  executed.  What,  now,  were  the  customs  and 
laws  in  regard  to  certain  of  the  primal  facts  of  life,  namely, 
marriage  and  divorce,  and  death  and  inheritance?  These  must 
have  a  profound  influence  on  any  people. 

Loarca  says  that  the  early  Bisaya  would  not  marry  beneath 
their  station,  and  this  held  true  probably  for  the  chiefs  and  their 
families ; 2  but  it  was  not  universally  true,  for  a  slave  might  be 
married  to  a  free  person,  as  has  been  seen  above.  Polygamy  was 
by  no  means  uncommon,  for  a  man  could  have  as  many  women  as 
he  could  support.3  In  the  case  of  dual  marriage,  however,  one 
woman  was  usually  regarded  as  the  legitimate  wife,  and  the  others 
as  concubines,  and  distinction  was  always  made  between  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  the  legitimate  wife  and  those  of  the  concubines. 

Among  most  Philippine  peoples,  the  union  was  decided  on 
between  the  parents  of  the  contracting  couple.  It  might  even 
be  arranged  between  the  parents  before  the  birth  of  the  children, 
its  consummation  being  dependent  upon  the  right  accident  of 
birth,  the  payment  of  a  dowry  by  the  man  or  his  parents,  and,  in 
many  instances,  on  the  fertility  of  the  woman.  One  condition  of 
marriage  might  be  that  the  groom  should  serve  the  parents  of  the 

1  See  reports  on  slavery  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  3,  pp.  286-288;  vol.  5,  pp.  179-185; 
vol.  7,  p.  173;  and  consult  the  index  volume  under  caption  “Slaves  and  slavery.” 
See  also  ante ,  p.  168,  note. 

2  In  B.  and  R.,  vol.  5,  p.  119. 

3  Morga,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  p.  125. 


AN  OLD  PHILIPPINE  CODE 


171 


bride  in  their  home  for  months  or  even  years  before  the  actual 
marriage,  in  addition  to  the  dowry  paid.  The  latter  was  paid  to 
the  parents  of  the  bride  as  a  recompense  to  them  for  their  work 
in  rearing  their  daughter  and  the  loss  occasioned  to  them  by  her 
marriage.  Personal  chastity  was  not  highly  esteemed.  Among 
some  peoples  it  was  considered  a  misfortune  for  a  woman  to  be  a 
virgin  when  married,  and  it  is  recorded  that  the  Bisaya  hired  a 
public  ravisher  to  deflower  their  daughters  at  an  early  age.1  A 
married  man  might  live  in  concubinage  for  a  long  time  with  his 
sister-in-law  or  even  have  had  access  to  his  mother-in-law  before 
he  had  lived  carnally  with  his  wife,  especially  if  the  latter  were 
very  young.2  Rape,  incest,  and  adultery  were  on  the  whole 
lightly  regarded,  although  some  peoples  did  regard  them  as  crimes 
of  a  grave  nature. 

Divorce  was  easy,  and  often  hinged  on  the  fertility  of  the 
woman.  This  is  true  among  the  wild  peoples  of  the  Philippines 
to-day,  among  some  of  whom  what  amounts  to  a  trial  marriage 
is  observed.  If  the  divorce  was  obtained  by  the  woman  in  order 
that  she  might  remarry,  it  was  sufficient  to  return  the  dowry  to 
the  man  or  to  his  parents,  with  an  additional  amount  equal  to 
the  dowry.3  If,  however,  she  did  not  remarry,  then  only  the 
dowry  was  returned.  If  the  husband  divorced  his  wife,  he  lost 
one-half  the  dowry,  and  the  other  one-half  was  returned  to  him. 
If  the  couple  had  children  at  the  time  of  the  divorce,  the  whole 
dowry  and  fine  (if  one  were  imposed)  went  to  them,  and  was  held 
in  trust  for  them  by  the  grandparents  or  other  responsible  rela¬ 
tives.  Sometimes,  when  the  husband  was  manifestly  at  fault, 
the  whole  dowry  was  retained  by  the  woman’s  parents.4  After 
the  birth  of  children,  separation  of  husband  and  wife  was  compara¬ 
tively  rare. 

The  mysterious  phenomenon  of  death  engrossed  the  attention 
of  early  Philippine  peoples,  as  it  has  that  of  all  races  and  peoples 
since  human  life  began.  Sickness  and  death  (unless  the  latter 
were  the  result  of  armed  violence)  were  considered  as  due  to  the 
forces  of  evil,  exercised  either  directly  by  evil  spirits,  or  through 

1  Morga,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  p.  131. 

8  Morga,  ibid.,  pp.  129,131 ;  and  San  Antonio,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  40,  p.  358. 

8  Plasencia,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  7,  p.  183. 

4  Morga,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  p.  126. 


172 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


the  agency  of  witches  or  persons  in  league  with  the  evil  spirits. 
Hence,  much  of  the  superstitious  religion  of  Philippine  peoples 
centered  closely  about  sickness  and  death.  The  mourning  and 
burial  customs  which  were  evolved  were  quite  rigidly  adhered  to, 
and  all  generally  had  some  reference  to  the  existence  of  the  soul 
of  the  deceased.1  From  the  legal  standpoint,  the  most  inter¬ 
esting  matters  connected  with  death  are  the  customs  and  laws  of 
inheritance. 

At  the  death  of  one  or  both  of  the  parents,  the  inheritance 
laws  were  quite  exact  and  definite.  Wills  were  sometimes  made, 
and  might  be  written  or  oral ;  but  in  either  case  they  were  not 
contested  and  were  carried  out  strictly.2  As  stated  above,  the 
dowry  at  marriage  was  paid  by  the  groom  or  his  parents  to  his 
wife’s  parents.  The  latter  enjoyed  this  property  as  their  own, 
and  at  their  death  it  was  divided  equally  among  all  their  children, 
including  the  wife  of  the  one  for  whom  the  dowry  had  been  paid. 
In  case  the  wife  had  no  parents  or  grandparents  at  the  time 
of  her  marriage,  the  dowry  belonged  to  her,  and  it  passed  by  inher¬ 
itance  to  her  children,  each  one  inheriting  equally.  In  general 
children  inherited  equally  any  property  left  by  their  parents, 
unless  either  parent  desired  to  show  some  slight  partiality  by  a 
small  gift.3  If  there  were  no  legitimate  children,  the  property  was 
divided  among  the  collateral  relatives,  for  illegitimate  children 
did  not  inherit,  and  even  the  illegitimate  children  of  chiefs  were 
not  included  among  the  principalia*  In  case  of  children  by  two  or 
more  legitimate  wives,  each  child  received  the  proper  share  of  the 
inheritance  of  his  mother’s  dowry,  plus  his  proportionate  share  in 
any  gain  that  might  have  been  made  from  the  dowry,  as  well  as 
an  equal  share  of  his  father’s  estate.  Plasencia  says  that  children 
by  a  free  unmarried  woman,  even  one  to  whom  a  dowry  might 


‘See  B.  and  R.,  index  caption  “Filipinos — Mortuary  customs.”  Colin  thus 
describes  the  procedure  at  the  death  of  a  chief  :  “Silence  must  reign  in  the  village 
until  the  interdict  was  raised,  and  that  lasted  a  greater  or  less  number  of  days, 
according  to  his  rank.  During  that  time  no  sound  or  noise  was  to  be  heard  any¬ 
where,  under  penalty  of  infamy.  In  regard  to  this  even  the  villages  along  the  river- 
bank  placed  a  certain  signal  aloft,  so  that  no  one  might  sail  by  that  side,  or  enter 
or  leave  the  village,  under  penalty  of  death.  They  deprived  anyone  who  broke 
that  silence  of  his  life,  with  the  greatest  cruelty  and  violence”  (B.  and  R.,  vol. 
40,  p.  81). 

2  Morga,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  p.  127. 

3  Plasencia,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  7,  p.  181 ;  and  Morga,  ibid.,  vol.  16,  op.  126. 

4  Morga,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  p.  127. 


AN  OLD  PHILIPPINE  CODE 


173 


have  been  given  but  who  was  not  regarded  as  a  legitimate  wife, 
were  natural  children,  and  inherited  but  a  third  part.  If  a  man 
had  children  by  a  free  married  woman,  and  a  fine  had  been  exacted 
by  the  husband  of  the  woman  from  the  adulterer,  the  fine  was 
considered  as  a  dowry,  and  the  child  entered  with  others  into  the 
inheritance.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  no  fine  had  been  paid,  the 
natural  child  did  not  inherit.1  In  Pampanga,  if  a  wife  died  with¬ 
out  children,  the  whole  dowry  was  returned,  but  if  children  had 
been  born,  only  one-half  the  dowry  was  returned.  If  any  child 
were  living  at  the  death  of  the  father  or  mother,  he  inherited  the 
property  of  the  deceased  parent,  and  if  the  child  were  a  minor,  the 
property  was  administered  by  the  parents  of  the  deceased.  Should 
the  minor  child  die,  the  property  was  inherited  by  the  grandparents 
and  not  by  the  living  parent.2  Laws  existed  among  certain  of 
the  peoples  of  the  Philippines  by  which  children  might  be  adopted 
on  payment  of  a  certain  sum.  Upon  the  death  of  the  person  who 
adopted  any  such  child,  double  the  sum  paid  for  his  adoption  was 
given  to  him.3  The  inheritance  lawrs  and  customs  of  the  various 
Philippine  peoples  deserve  more  space  than  can  be  given  them  here, 
for  in  many  ways  they  show  the  legal  status  of  the  people. 

As  seen  above,  definite  property  rights  existed.  Among  the 
Tagalog,  and  probably  among  the  other  peoples,  husband  and 
wife  each  had  entire  charge  of  their  own  property,  and  any  prop¬ 
erty  acquired  by  them  jointly  was  divided  equally  between  them. 
This  property  law  compares  favorably  with  the  present  laws  of 
more  than  one  state  in  the  Union.  Unmarried  women  could  own 
no  property  in  their  own  names,  and  any  profit  resulting  from  their 
work,  or  any  inheritance  which  fell  to  them,  belonged  to  their 
parents.4  The  law  of  partnerships  is  interesting.  When  a  part¬ 
nership  was  formed  by  two  men,  each  of  whom  furnished  an  equal 
amount  of  money,  and  one  man  went  to  trade  with  the  money 
of  both,  the  other  partner  became  equally  liable  in  case  the  trader 
were  captured  and  a  ransom  demanded  for  his  release.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  one  of  the  partners  lost  money  on  gambling  or 
women,  he,  together  with  his  children,  was  held  liable  for  the  sum 

1  Plasencia,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  7,  pp.  181,  182. 

*  Plasencia,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  p.  328. 

s  Plasencia,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  7,  p.  182;  and  Morga,  ibid.,  16,  p.  126. 

4  Plasencia,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  7,  p.  183. 


174 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


so  lost.  If  the  amount  lost  could  not  be  paid  back  to  the  partner¬ 
ship  within  the  stipulated  time,  the  sinning  partner  and  half  his 
children  became  the  slaves  of  the  other  partner.  If  the  children 
who  were  left  with  their  freedom  were  able  to  pay  the  debt,  the 
father  and  the  other  children  were  set  free.1 

Turning  now  from  these  considerations,  let  us  see  what  was 
the  method  of  court  procedure,  or  in  other  words  how  the  ends  of 
justice  were  met.  Colin,  who  is  followed  almost  exactly  by  San 
Antonio  without  credit  being  given,  says :  “  Their  laws  and  policy, 
which  were  not  very  barbarous  for  barbarians,  consisted  wholly 
of  traditions  and  customs,  observed  with  so  great  exactness  that 
it  was  not  considered  possible  to  break  them  in  any  circumstance.”  2 
Among  the  Tagalog  (and  the  same  procedure  was  more  or  less 
similar  among  all  the  peoples  when  laws  and  penalties  were 
definitely  stated  by  special  enactment),  laws  were  made  and 
penalties  provided  for  the  infringement  thereof  by  the  greatest 
chief  of  any  allied  confederacy  of  barangay,  communities,  or  towns, 
by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  sub-chiefs.  When  the  new  enact¬ 
ments  had  been  approved  by  all  the  chiefs,  they  were  proclaimed 
by  public  crier  in  all  places  affected.  Those  who  transgressed 
the  ordinance  were  sentenced  by  the  chief.  Each  sub-chief  acted 
as  judge  within  the  limits  of  his  district,  but  in  important  cases, 
all  the  sub-chiefs  met  under  the  presidency  of  the  head  chief  (the 
regulo  or  reyesuelo )  and  the  matter  was  settled  by  vote.3 

Among  the  Tagalog,  all  investigations  by  the  datu  and  his 
sentences  took  place  before  the  persons  concerned.  In  case  one 
of  the  litigants  appealed,  an  arbiter  was  chosen  from  another 
barangay  or  town,  who  might  or  might  not  be  a  datu,  and  from  his 
judgment  there  was  no  appeal.  Judges  or  arbiters  were  also 
chosen  to  hear  the  disputes  between  two  chiefs  when  they  wished 
to  avoid  war,  and  between  litigants  from  different  barangay.11 
Morga  says  that  in  all  kinds  of  suits,  the  case  was  heard  be¬ 
fore  the  old  men  of  the  district  in  which  the  litigants  lived. 
After  the  witnesses  presented  by  both  sides  had  been  ex¬ 
amined,  the  sentence  was  immediately  pronounced  and  executed.5 

1  Loarca,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  5. 

2  Colin,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  40,  pp.  84-86 ;  and  San  Antonio,  ibid..,  pp.  355-356. 

3  Loarca,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  5,  pp.  175-177. 

4  Plasencia,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  7,  p.  179. 

*  In  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  p.  121. 


AN  OLD  PHILIPPINE  CODE 


175 


It  seems  to  have  been  a  common  occurrence  for  the  old  men  to 
intervene  in  suits  in  all  parts  of  the  Philippines,  probably  as  ad¬ 
visers  or  counsellors. 

The  usual  procedure  was  for  each  side  to  present  its  witnesses, 
and  from  their  testimony  and  number  (and  the  latter  was  very 
important)  the  case  was  judged.  In  some  cases  an  oath  was 
administered,  such  as:  “May  the  crocodile  eat  me!”  “May  my 
belly  burst!”  or  “May  the  lightning  strike  me!”  The  system 
left  abundant  room  for  perjury,  and  this  doubtless  frequently 
occurred.  Indeed,  one  of  the  charges  made  against  the  present- 
day  native  of  the  Philippines  is  that  he  can  easily  be  made  to  com¬ 
mit  perjury. 

The  judgment  for  most  cases  involved  the  payment  of  a  fine 
by  the  loser,  the  amount  of  which  was  usually  within  the  discre¬ 
tion  of  the  judge  or  judges.  As  a  rule  the  judges  and  intermedia¬ 
tors  before  whom  the  suit  was  tried  received  one-half  of  the  fine, 
the  chief  taking  the  greater  part,  while  the  other  half  was  paid 
to  the  winner  of  the  suit  or  his  relatives.  Sometimes,  it  is 
said,  the  winner  was  left  with  a  mere  pittance  as  his  share. 
Criminal  cases,  such  as  murder,  were  generally  judged  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  the  rank  of  the  criminal  and  his  victim,  for,  as  already 
seen,  rank  has  always  carried  an  undue  influence  in  the  Philip¬ 
pines.1 

Plasencia  describes  very  fully  the  procedure  among  the  Pam- 
pango.  When  complaint  was  made  to  the  chief  by  one  of  his 
timaguas,  the  former  immediately  summoned  the  defendant  and 
attempted  to  compose  the  differences  between  the  two  men.  If 
he  failed,  formal  suit  was  opened.  An  oath  was  administered 
to  each  litigant  by  which  he  bound  himself  to  abide  by  the  judg¬ 
ment  of  the  chief.  Since  the  Pampango  did  not  use  written  docu¬ 
ments  in  their  trials,  the  examination  was  entirely  verbal.  If 
the  number  of  witnesses  presented  by  both  sides  were  equal,  the 
amount  of  the  suit  was  divided  equally  between  the  litigants ;  but 
if  the  number  were  unequal,  the  suit  was  decided  in  favor  of  the 
one  who  had  the  greater  number.  If  the  loser  refused  to  pay  the 
sum  to  which  he  had  been  condemned,  the  judge  or  judges  com¬ 
pelled  him  to  do  so  by  actual  violence.  The  witnesses  of  the  win- 

1  See  San  Antonio,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  40,  pp.  356-357. 


176 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


ner,  as  well  as  the  judges,  shared  in  the  fine,  but  the  witnesses  of 
the  loser  received  nothing.1 

Among  certain  peoples  trial  by  ordeal  was  not  uncommon. 
This  was  accomplished  in  several  ways.  In  the  case  of  theft, 
before  resorting  to  the  actual  ordeal,  the  criminal  was  given  one 
last  chance  to  return  the  stolen  property.  This  was  done,  after 
the  crime  had  been  proven  but  not  the  criminal,  by  causing  each 
of  the  suspects  to  deposit  a  bundle  of  something  (cloth,  leaves, 
or  anything  else  desired)  in  a  common  heap,  it  being  assumed 
that  the  stolen  article  would  be  found  in  the  bundle  deposited 
by  the  thief.  If  the  property  were  found,  the  suit  ceased.  If  not, 
the  ordeal  was  applied.  One  method  was  to  place  each  suspect 
in  the  deepest  part  of  the  river,  each  with  his  wooden  spear  in 
his  hand.  At  the  same  instant  all  were  plunged  under  the  water, 
and  the  one  to  emerge  first  was  considered  to  be  the  guilty  person. 
It  is  said  that  many  let  themselves  drown  rather  than  run  the  risk 
of  condemnation.  A  second  method  was  to  place  a  stone  in  a 
vessel  of  boiling  water,  and  to  order  the  suspected  person  to  take 
it  out  with  the  hand.  He  who  refused  to  submit  to  the  test 
was  adjudged  guilty.  By  a  third  method,  each  of  the  suspected 
persons  was  given  a  candle,  all  the  candles  being  uniform  as  to 
wick,  size,  and  weight.  These  were  lighted  at  the  same  instant, 
and  he  whose  candle  went  out  first  was  regarded  as  the  guilty 
person.2 

Still  another  form  of  trial  was  by  divination.  This  was  used 
also  in  cases  of  theft.  One  method  consisted  of  burning  a  piece 
of  rock  alum.  After  the  alum  had  been  vaporized  and  then  crys¬ 
tallized,  an  image  was  said  to  be  formed  which  was  that  of  the 
criminal.  This  led  to  absurd  conclusions,  for  should  the  image 
formed  by  the  crystals  resemble  any  animal,  then  the  animal 
was  considered  to  be  the  criminal,  and  the  suit  was  dismissed.8 
Divination  by  means  of  the  bilao  was  sometimes  resorted  to. 
This  is  described  by  Pavon  in  his  “Legends”  as  well  as  by  San 
Antonio.  Since  Pavon’s  account  is  the  better,  it  is  given  here 
complete.  The  ceremony  is  known  by  the  name  of  salagunting. 
The  bilao  is  a  basket  that  is  used  in  the  household  economy.  The 

1  In  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  pp.  322-323. 

2  Colin,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  40,  pp.  84-86. 

8  San  Antonio,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  40,  p.  343. 


AN  OLD  PHILIPPINE  CODE 


177 


account  is  as  follows :  “They  take  a  bilao  about  one  palvio  across 
at  its  mouth,  and  a  pair  of  scissors  with  sharp  points.  They  select 
a  small  room  for  this  purpose.  Then  they  light  two  candles. 
The  prophet  shuts  himself  up  in  the  said  room,  and  repeats  this 
fine  prayer  three  times  or  as  often  as  may  be  necessary  —  ‘  In¬ 
vincible  spirits,  and  genii  of  sky,  earth,  air,  and  water,  who  see 
and  watch  all :  aid  me,  I  beg  you,  to  discover  and  know  all  those 
evil  thieves,  who  without  the  permission  of  the  good  master  ex¬ 
tract  things  and  money  contrary  to  the  excellent  rules  of  our  good 
and  ever  just  diuata  Casanlhalaan’  .  .  .  After  uttering  this 
prayer  thrice,  the  prophet  opens  the  scissors  and  sets  the  bilao 
on  their  points,  and  thereupon  says:  ‘Here  are  these  scissors 
and  this  bilao  which  I  present  to  you.  By  means  of  them,  I  wish 
you  to  tell  me  which  one  of  those  whom  I  name  is  the  author  of 
the  theft ;  and  whoever  it  be  cause  this  bilao  to  see  him.’  While 
saying  this,  he  holds  the  bilao  still  with  the  thumbs  and  index 
fingers  of  his  right  and  left  hands.  Then  he  continues  to  call  the 
names  of  all  those  persons  who  are  suspected,  and  when  he  reaches 
the  name  of  that  person  who  committed  the  theft,  they  say  that 
the  bilao  vibrates  and  falls  to  the  ground.  The  prayers  are  re¬ 
peated  as  long  as  the  candles  stay  lit.  Care  must  be  taken  that 
no  person  enters  the  place  or  room,  nor  must  there  be  any  current 
of  air  even.”  San  Antonio  says  that  a  rosary  was  hung  to  the 
scissors  —  a  procedure  which  shows  the  influence  of  the  Span¬ 
iards.1  A  later  development  of  trial  by  divination  which  shows 
distinctly  the  influence  of  Christianity  was  to  light  a  candle  to  St. 
Anthony  of  Padua,  the  patron  saint  who  is  said  to  officiate  in 
the  recovery  of  lost  articles.  If  the  flame  shot  out  toward  any  of 
those  present,  he  was  regarded  as  the  thief.2 

By  the  simple  methods  just  enumerated  justice  was  adminis¬ 
tered  and,  perhaps,  generally  obtained.  It  was  rude  justice,  but 
fairly  effective.  What  partiality  was  shown  was  always  in  favor 
of  the  ruling  class.  That  the  justice  as  thus  administered  often 
made  it  possible  to  avoid  feud  or  warfare  there  can  be  no  doubt, 
and  on  this  score  alone  it  had  a  beneficial  effect. 

Before  taking  up  the  Pavon  code,  a  slight  review  will  be  made 
of  the  chief  crimes  and  penalties.  Crimes  will  accordingly  be 

1  In  B.  and  R.,  vol.  40,  p.  343. 

N 


» Ibid. 


178 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


taken  up  in  the  following  order:  insulting  words  and  actions; 
theft ;  adultery ;  and  murder.  Debt,  which  was,  perhaps,  the 
most  common  crime,  has  already  been  discussed  sufficiently. 

The  native  of  the  Philippine  Islands  has  always  been  extremely 
sensitive  to  the  spoken  word.  Knowing  this  characteristic,  those 
who  come  into  contact  with  Filipinos  should  ever  strive  to  exer¬ 
cise  tact  and  self-control  in  their  dealings  with  them.  Insulting 
words  and  actions  were  and  are  considered  worse  than  the  actual 
blow.1  Hence  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  that  heavy  penalties 
were  inflicted  by  the  chiefs  for  insults  to  them  and  their  families. 
For  speaking  disrespectfully  to  a  chief,  the  penalty  was  death, 
unless  the  guilty  person  could  pay  a  fine  of  fifteen  taes  or  seventy- 
five  pesos,  or  unless  he  became  a  slave.2  Among  the  Pampango, 
in  the  case  of  insults  between  chiefs,  a  third  chief  of  the  highest 
rank  in  the  province  was  invited  by  the  two  to  judge  the  matter. 
If  either  chief  refused  to  concur  in  the  judgment  rendered,  each 
began  to  give  great  feasts  and  entertainments,  with  the  result 
that  he  who  spent  the  greater  sum  was  esteemed  the  more  power¬ 
ful  and  honorable.  When  the  chiefs  were  of  equal  rank,  a  refusal 
to  pay  any  fine  imposed  by  the  arbiter  might  result  in  a  feud  be¬ 
tween  the  two  communities,  during  the  continuance  of  which  any 
person  captured  was  made  a  slave.  If  insults  were  bandied  be¬ 
tween  two  chiefs,  one  of  whom  occupied  the  highest  rank,  three  or 
four  chiefs  were  chosen  by  the  others  of  the  province  to  take  cogni¬ 
zance  of  the  case.3 

Among  the  Tagalog,  a  man  of  low  birth  who  insulted  the 
daughter  or  wife  of  a  chief  was  condemned  to  death.  Slavery 
was  decreed  for  those  who  passed  by  the  chief  while  he  was  bath¬ 
ing  in  the  river,  or  who  looked  at  him  less  respectfully  than  he 
deemed  proper.4  If  one  timagua  insulted  another,  the  judge 
imposed  a  fine  in  proportion  to  the  nature  of  the  insult,  and  in  case 
the  criminal  could  not  pay  the  fine  he  became  the  slave  of  the 
injured  person.5  W7hen  a  timagua  insulted  a  chief  and  had  no 
property  with  which  to  pay  the  fine,  he  was  enslaved  together 

1  Morga,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  pp.  128,  129. 

2  Loarca,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  5;  Combes,  ibid,  vol.  40,  pp.  148,  149  (in  speaking 
of  the  Moros). 

*  Plasencia,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  p.  326. 

4  Plasencia,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  7,  p.  179;  Morga,  ibid.,  vol.  16,  p.  119. 

6  Loarca,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  5. 


AN  OLD  PHILIPPINE  CODE 


179 


with  his  wife  and  children.  No  penalty,  or  a  very  slight  one, 
was  imposed  for  an  insult  by  a  chief  to  a  timagua.1 

The  crime  of  theft  was  regarded  with  severity,  and  death,  muti¬ 
lation,  and  slavery  were  not  unknown  penalties.2  As  above  seen, 
trial  by  ordeal  or  divination  was  at  times  resorted  to  in  order  to 
discover  the  criminal.  Among  the  Tagalog,  the  theft  was  con¬ 
sidered  petty  larceny  if  for  an  amount  not  in  excess  of  four  taes 
or  twenty  pesos,  but  if  beyond  that  amount,  it  was  a  serious 
offense.  For  petty  larceny,  the  culprit  was  obliged  to  return  the 
amount  stolen  plus  the  fine  decreed  by  the  judge ;  but  for  grand  lar¬ 
ceny  the  penalty  of  slavery  was  imposed  unless  the  amount  equalled 
a  catty,  in  which  case  the  sentence  was  death  or  the  enslavement 
of  the  criminal  together  with  his  children  and  all  his  household. 
This  law  seems  to  have  been  modified  at  times,  inasmuch  as  a 
fine  might  be  imposed  for  the  first  offence,  slavery  for  the  second, 
and  death  for  the  third.  In  case  the  sentence  of  death  were 
excused,  the  wife  and  children  were  enslaved,  because  they  were 
supposed  to  have  a  knowledge  of  the  crime.  Any  member  of  the 
family  who  could  prove  that  he  was  not  in  the  house  when  the 
crime  was  committed,  was  not  included  in  the  punishment.3 
Among  the  Pampango,  a  chief  who  committed  theft  was  com¬ 
pelled  to  return  the  amount  stolen  and  pay  a  fine  in  proportion 
to  the  theft,  this  fine  being  imposed  by  one  of  the  chiefs  who  was 
selected  by  his  fellows.  The  oldest  and  most  intelligent  chief  was 
generally  chosen,  and  he  could  moderate  the  amount  of  the  fine 
at  will.  If  the  theft  were  committed  by  a  timagua,  and  he  were 
unable  to  pay  his  fine,  he  was  sold  as  a  slave  to  the  village.  If  he 
were  a  slave,  his  master  paid  his  fine  or  gave  him  as  a  slave  to  the 
aggrieved  party,  in  addition  to  which  he  wras  well  beaten.  If  the 
owner  of  stolen  goods  caught  a  slave  in  the  act  of  committing  theft 
he  could  kill  or  beat  him  with  impunity.4  Among  the  Moros 
joints  of  the  fingers  or  toes  were  cut  off  as  a  warning,  a  greater 
or  less  number  according  to  the  amount  of  the  theft.  This  might 
be  modified  to  a  fine.5 

1  Plasencia,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  p.  320. 

2  Morga,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  pp.  128,  129;  Combes,  ibid.,  vol.  40,  p.  150. 

3  Loarca,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  5. 

4  Plasencia,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  p.  325. 

6  Combes,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  40,  p.  150. 


180 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


As  seen  above,  adultery,  incest,  and  rape  were  not  so  seriously 
regarded  as  among  many  peoples.  However,  the  penalty  was 
assigned  with  reference  to  the  rank  of  the  offender.1  If  a  chief 
committed  adultery,  his  kinsmen  paid  his  fine,  and  if  this  were 
not  done,  the  chief  became  a  slave.2  Among  the  Tagalog,  the 
chief  who  committed  adultery  was  condemned  to  death  (always, 
however,  with  modification  of  the  sentence  to  a  fine).  The  same 
penalty  was  inflicted  on  the  man  who  committed  adultery  with 
the  concubine  of  a  chief.  The  husband  might  kill  the  adulterer 
if  he  were  caught  in  the  act.  If  the  guilty  man  escaped,  a  fine 
was  imposed,  and  until  that  were  paid,  enmity  existed  between 
the  families.3  The  Pangasinan  put  the  woman  to  death,  but  the 
punishment  among  the  other  peoples  seems  to  have  been  visited 
on  the  man.4  Among  the  Moros,  a  higher  ideal  seemed  to  pre¬ 
vail  than  in  some  other  parts  in  regard  to  crimes  of  passion.  The 
unnatural  crime  was  punished  by  the  burning  of  the  offenders  and 
their  property ;  or  they  were  placed  in  a  cage  and  thrown  into  the 
sea,  and  all  their  property  burned.  Incest  in  the  first  degree 
they  regarded  as  a  most  heinous  crime.5 

The  crime  of  murder  has  called  for  special  treatment  from  most 
peoples,  and  considerable  attention  was  given  to  it  in  the  Phil¬ 
ippines.  Among  the  Tagalog,  the  usual  penalty  was  death,  un¬ 
less  the  murderer  became  the  slave  of  the  relatives  of  his  victim. 
After  sentence,  the  condemned  might  choose  between  death  and 
slavery.  If  the  murdered  man  were  a  chief,  the  entire  village  of 
the  criminal,  after  the  fact  was  proved,  became  slaves,  those  who 
were  most  guilty  being  put  to  death.6  This  was  the  law,  but  a 
murder  was  at  any  time  apt  to  lead  to  a  feud  war  which  was  gen¬ 
erally  started  by  the  kinsmen  of  the  murdered  man.  The  rapidly 
dying  custom  of  headhunting  of  the  present-day  wild  peoples  is 
only  this  feud  warfare  sanctioned  by  religion  and  superstition. 
The  feud  might  stop  only  after  all  parties  had  grown  tired  of  it 
and  after  the  mediators  had  declared  the  amount  of  the  fine  to 


1  Morga  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  p.  129;  San  Antonio,  ibid.,  vol.  40,  p.  358. 

1  Loarca  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  5,  p.  151. 

3  Loarca  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  5. 

*  Loarca  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  5,  p.  117. 

3  Combes  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  40,  p.  150. 

8  Loarca  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  5. 


AN  OLD  PHILIPPINE  CODE 


181 


be  paid  in  accordance  with  an  appraisal  made  by  the  old  men.1 
Colin  says  that  the  penalty  of  death  was  not  imposed  by  process 
of  law  unless  the  murderer  and  his  victim  were  common  men  and 
there  were  no  property  with  which  to  satisfy  the  murder.  In 
such  case,  the  murderer  was  speared  to  death  either  by  his  own 
datu  or  by  the  other  chiefs,  after  having  been  fastened  to  a  stake.2 
Plasencia  gives  many  interesting  details  regarding  the  penalties 
for  murder  among  the  Pampango.  When  a  chief  was  killed  by 
another  chief,  it  was  the  signal  for  a  feud  war,  which  might  cease 
only  when  the  murderer  had  been  killed.  If  the  murderer  were 
not  killed,  as  many  as  possible  of  his  followers  were  killed  in  re¬ 
taliation.  After  a  certain  time  had  elapsed,  the  other  chiefs  of 
the  province  made  an  attempt  to  reconcile  the  two  parties.  For 
a  prominent  chief,  a  fine  of  one  hundred  gold  taes  or  five  hundred 
pesos  was  generally  paid,  but  seventy  or  eighty  taes  was  the  usual 
sum  for  the  lesser  chiefs.  One-half  this  sum  was  given  to  the 
kin  of  the  murdered  man,  and  the  other  half  to  the  mediators  and 
timaguas  of  the  barangay  of  the  deceased.  If  the  kinsmen  of  the 
deceased  refused  to  listen  to  reconciliation,  the  other  chiefs  aided 
the  party  of  the  murderer  until  they  forced  a  peace.  If  a  timagua 
killed  a  chief,  the  kinsmen  of  the  latter  slew  the  murderer  together 
with  his  wife  and  children,  if  they  were  caught,  and  all  the  mur¬ 
derer’s  property  was  seized  and  divided  among  the  children  of 
the  deceased,  or  if  the  latter  had  no  children,  among  those  who 
avenged  his  death.  If  a  chief  killed  a  timagua,  the  murderer  paid 
the  children  of  his  victim  from  ten  to  twenty  gold  taes.  In  case 
the  timaguas  had  no  heirs,  the  sum  was  paid  to  the  judge  who  passed 
the  sentence,  the  latter  being  a  chief  who  had  been  selected  by  the 
other  chiefs  of  the  town  in  which  the  murder  occurred.  When  one 
timagua  killed  another  and  had  no  property  with  which  to  pay 
the  fine,  he  was  speared  to  death  or  hanged  by  his  own  or  another 
chief.  The  same  law  was  followed  when  one  woman  killed  another 
by  poison,  steel,  or  other  agency.  The  death  sentence  was  not 
passed  when  one  brother  killed  another,  an  uncle  his  nephew,  or 
a  nephew  his  uncle,  but  all  the  property  of  the  criminal  was  seized 
and  given  to  the  heirs  of  the  deceased.  Witches  who  committed 

1  Colin  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  40,  pp.  85,  86;  San  Antonio,  ibid.,  pp.  356,  357. 

1  See  Colin  and  San  Antonio,  ut  supra. 


182 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


murder  were  stabbed  to  death  by  the  chief  of  their  own  barangay 
or  that  of  the  barangay  of  their  victim,  or  in  case  either  of  these 
two  failed  in  his  duty,  by  any  other  chief,  while  the  property  of 
the  witch  was  seized  and  divided  between  the  heirs  of  the  deceased 
and  the  chief  who  killed  the  murderer.1 

We  now  come  to  Pavon’s  code.  It  is  hereto  appended  in  both 
its  Spanish  and  English  translations.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
Pavon  did  not  give  the  original  Bisaya  as  he  has  done  with  some 
other  documents  which  he  reproduces.  If  one  keep  in  mind  what 
has  been  said  in  the  preceding  part  of  this  paper,  much  of  the 
code  will  need  no  explanation.  Given  the  hesitancy  of  the  Filipino 
to  condemn  a  criminal  to  actual  death,  it  is  probable  that  the  death 
sentence  imposed  in  the  code  for  various  offenses  might  be  com¬ 
pounded  by  a  fine  or  by  slavery.  Throughout  the  penalties  are 
severe  in  tone,  and  some  of  them  are  quite  different  from  any 
that  have  been  reported  by  any  other  writer.  The  great  im¬ 
portance  of  this  code  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  gives  a  more  intimate 
viewpoint  of  the  people  before  the  Spanish  colonization  than  any 
other  writings  yet  discovered.  The  poor  Spanish  used  at  times 
in  Pavon’s  translation  must  be  ascribed  to  his  amanuensis. 


LOS  17  [i.e.  18]  THESIS,  6  LEY  DE  LOS  REGULOS  EN  USO  EN 

1850  DESDE  1433 

Este  q®  aqui  reprodusco  es  una  traduccion  fiel  de  un  documento 
Yngneine  de  1433,  traducido  pr.  el  esperto  traductor  de  alphabetos 
Bisaias  don  Raphael  Murviedro  i  Zamaneu.  Este  documento 
fue  allado  en  poder  de  un  regulo  de  la  Isla  de  Panai  en  1614,  el 
original  en  un  estado  malo  obra  en  poder  del  Erudito  Dn.  Mar- 
selino  Orfila  en  Zaragoza.  De  su  traduccion  puedo  asegurar  ser 
verdadera. 

La  primera  orden 

No  matereis.  Ni  robareis.  Ni  lastimeis  a  viexos.  Sin  ser 
vuestra  vida,  corrida  peligro  de  muerte.  Todos  los  q®  esto  in- 
friengieran  —  a  morir  —  aogados  con  piedra  en  rio  —  6  agua 
yrbiendo. 

1  Plasencia,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  pp.  323-326. 


AN  OLD  PHILIPPINE  CODE 


183 


Segunda  orden 

Cumplireis.  Qe.  todas  v[u]estras  deudas  con  principals  sea 
mui  bien  pagadas.  El  q?  no  cumpliere.  Por  primera  vez  cien 
azotes.  Si  es  mucha  la  deuda.  Meter  tres  veces  la  mano  en 
agua  hirviendo.  Por  segunda  vez  morir  a  palos. 

Ter  sera  orden 

Obedeced  :  el  q®  cada  uno  no  tenga  muxeres  q®  sean  mui  jovenes  : 
Ni  mas  de  lo  q®  pueda  cuidar.  Ni  usar  ecesiba  luxuria. 

El  q®  no  cumpliera.  Obedeciera.  i  Siguiera,  sera  condenado  a 
nadar  tres  oras,  i  por  segunda  vez  morir  azotado  con  puas  de  es- 
pinas.  O  comido  pr.  espinas  pr.  segunda  vez. 

Tersera  [i.e.  cuarta]  orden 

Seguid  i  obedeced  :  el  q®  no  se  turben  la  paz  de  los  sepulcros  :  en 
pasando  dad  respeto  a  ellos.  En  las  cuevas  i  arvoles  donde  estan. 

El  que  esto  no  siguiere  sera  muerto  por  ho[r]migas.  O  azotado 
con  puas.  Asta  morir. 

4?  [i.e.  5®]  orden 

Obedecereis  :  El  q®  los  cambios  pr.  comidas.  sea  siempre  seguida 
al  pie  de  su  palabra. 

El  q®  no  cumpliere  sera  puesto  a  palos  una  hora.  El  que  repita 
sera  puesto  en  las  hormigas  un  dia. 

5®  [i.e.  6®]  Orden 

Sereis  obligados  a  reverenciar,  sitios  respetados.  Arvoles  de 
conocido  balor  i  otros  sitios. 

Pagara  con  su  trabajo  por  un  mes,  en  oro  6  con  miel  el  dejara 
de  cumplir,  si  pr.  segunda  vez  esclavonia  pr.  sinco  An? 

6?  [i.e.  7a] 

Seran  muertos :  El  que  mate  arvoles  de  venerado  aspecto. 
El  q?  tire  flechasos  pr.  la  noche  Con  viexos  i  muxeres.  El  q?  entre 
en  casas  de  principales,  sin  permiso.  El  que  mate  pes  Tivoron, 
6  Caiman  raiado. 


184 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


7?  [i.e.  8?] 

Esclavonia  por  un  daom  (temporada)  aquellos  q®  robasan  mu- 
xeres  de  los  principales.  El  q?  tenga  malos  perros  q®  muerda  a 
los  principales.  El  q®  Queme  sembrados  agenos. 

8a  [i.e.  9a] 

Seran  apaleados  pr.  dos  dias  todos  aquellos  q® :  Cantan  en 
viaxes  de  noche.  Maten  paxaros  Manaul.  rompan  documentos 
de  los  principales.  Sean  mentirosos  de  mal  caletre.  6  juegen  con 
los  muertos. 

9®  [i.e.  10®] 

Sara  obligation :  Q®  toda  madre  ensene  cosas  lascibas  secre- 
tamente  a  sus  hixas.  i  las  prepare  a  ser  muxeres.  Q®  los  hom- 
bres  no  sean  crueles.  Ni  castiguen  a  sus  muxeres  cuando  cojan 
Adulterio  in  Fraganti. 

El  q®  desobedeciere  sera  muerto  a  pedasos.  Y  tyrado  a  los 
caimanes. 

10a  [i.e.  11®] 

Seran  incinerados :  Aquellos  q®  pr.  su  fuerza,  6  pr.  su  listeza 
aian  burlado  i  esquivado  castigo.  O,  an  muerto  los  chiquillos 
jovenes.  O  traten  de  robar  muxeres  de  agorangs. 

11®  [i.e.  12®] 

Seran  ajogados :  Todos  aquellos  esclavos  q®  embistan  con  sus 
gefes  superiores  o  sus  duenos  i  amos.  Todos  los  q®  a[b]usasen  en 
su  luxuria.  Los  q®  matasen  sus  anitos,  rompiendolos,  6  tirandolos. 

12®  [i.e.  13®] 

Seran  puestos  en  las  hormigas  pr.  medio  dia  :  Aquellos  :  Q?  maten 
gatos  negros  en  luna  nueva.  O  roben  cozsas  de  gefes  i  agorangs 
pr.  mui  pequenos  q®  sean. 

13®  [i.e.  14®] 

Seran  esclavos  pa.  toda  su  vida :  Los  q®  tengan  hijas  bellas  i  lo 
nieguen  a  hijos  de  los  gefes.  6  lo  escondan  de  mala  fee. 


AN  OLD  PHILIPPINE  CODE 


185 


14?  [i.e.  15?] 

Que  concierne  a  sus  creencias  i  supersticiones. 

Seran  azotados  aquellos  q? :  Coman  carnes  malas  de  sus  bichos 
respetados.  6  hiervas  q?  la  tienen  pr.  buenas.  el  q?  lastime  6  mate 
polios  de  Manual,  6  chongo  bianco. 

15?  [i.e.  16?] 

Seran  cortados  los  dedos :  De  todos  aquellos  q?  rompan  idolos 
de  madera  6  de  barro,  en  sus  olangans  i  ofrendatorios.  El  q? 
rompa  punzones  de  tagalonas  p?  matar  puercos,  6  rompa  vasixas 
de  bebidas. 

16?  [i.e.  17?] 

Seran  muertos  los  q?  profanen  sitios  donde  se  depositan  idolos. 
donde  se  entierren  cosas  sagrada[s]  de  sus  diuatas  i  principales. 
El  q?  haga  sus  necesidades  en  estos  sitios  sera  insinerado. 

17?  [i.e.  18?] 

Los  q?  no  hagan  obedecer  estas  reglas,  si  son  principales  seran 
muertos  a  pedradas  i  machacados.  i  si  son  agorangs  puestos  en 
rios  pa.  ser  comidos  de  Tivorones  i  caymanes. 

Echo  en  el  ano  1433. 

CALANTIAO,  Regulo  3” 


THE  17  [i.e.  18]  THESES,  OR  LAW  OF  THE  REGULOS  IN  USE 
FROM  1433  TO  1850 1 

The  present  reproduction  is  a  faithful  translation  of  an  Yngneine2 
•  document  of  1433,  translated  by  the  skilled  translator  of  Bisayan 
alphabets,  Don  Raphael  Murviedro  i  Zamaneu.  This  document 
was  found  in  the  possession  of  a  regulo  of  the  island  of  Panai  in 

1  The  title  should  read  “18”  instead  of  “17,”  for  Pavdn’s  amanuensis,  as  will 
be  noted,  repeats  the  caption  to  the  third  order,  thus  making  an  error  in  each 
succeeding  order  after  the  third.  This  error  has  been  corrected  throughout  by 
the  usual  editorial  interpolation  between  square  brackets.  The  date  in  the  manu¬ 
script  is  1850,  which  is  also  an  evident  error  of  the  amanuensis,  since  Pav6n  wrote 
in  1837-1838.  It  is  possible  that  1650,  or  even  1750,  is  meant. 

1  The  Malayan  peoples  of  Negros  and  Panay  (all  Bisaya)  were  known  formerly 
as  the  Higuecina  (coast-dwellers)  and  Igueine  (“  Igneines  ”  in  Pav6n  ;  hill-dwellers). 
Chirino,  writing  before  1604  (see  B.  and  R.,  vol.  12,  pp.  238,  239),  gives  samples 
of  two  Bisayan  dialects. 


186 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


1614.  The  original,  in  a  very  bad  condition,  is  in  the  possession 
of  the  erudite  Don  Marselino  Orfila  in  Zaragoza.  I  can  attest 
that  its  translation  is  exact. 


The  first  order 

Ye  shall  not  kill ;  neither  shall  ye  steal ;  neither  shall  ye  do  hurt 
to  the  aged : 1  lest  ye  incur  the  danger  of  death.  All  those  who 
infringe  this  [order  shall  be  condemned]  to  death  by  being  drowned 
with  stones  in  the  river,  or  in  boiling  water. 

Second  order 

Ye  shall  obey.  Let  all  your  debts  with  the  headmen  [princi- 
pales]  be  met  punctually.  He  who  does  not  obey  [shall  receive] 
for  the  first  time  one  hundred  lashes.  If  the  debt  is  large,  [he 
shall  be  condemned]  to  thrust  his  hand  thrice  into  boiling  water. 
For  the  second  time,  [he  shall  be  condemned]  to  be  beaten  to  death. 

Third  order 

Obey  ye :  let  no  one  have  women  that  are  very  young ;  nor 
more  than  he  can  support ;  nor  be  given  to  excessive  lust.2 

He  who  does  not  comply  with,  obey,  and  observe  [this  order] 
shall  be  condemned  to  swim  for  three  hours  [for  the  first  time], 
and  for  the  second  time,  to  be  beaten  to  death  with  sharp  thorns ; 
or  for  the  second  time,  [he  shall  be]  lacerated  with  thorns.3 


Third  [i.e.  fourth]  order 

Observe  and  obey  ye :  let  no  one  disturb  the  quiet  of  graves. 
When  passing  by  the  caves  and  trees  where  they  are,  give  respect 
to  them.4 

1  Respect  for  age  has  always  been  one  of  the  most  pleasing  traits  of  Filipino 
character. 

2  This  order  has  a  real  moral  foundation.  In  the  remaining  orders,  it  will  be 
noted  that  several  treat  of  the  intercourse  between  the  sexes. 

3  The  Spanish  is  comido  por  espinas,  literally  “eaten  by  thorns.”  It  is 
possible  that  Pav6n  dictated  comido  por  hormigas,  “eaten  by  ants.” 

1  Burial  in  caves,  at  least  for  the  chief  men,  was  common  among  the  early  Bisaya, 
a  fact  that  is  well  attested  by  the  many  burial  caves  that  have  been,  and  are  being, 
discovered.  In  some  of  these  caves  well-preserved  coffins  and  bones  have  been 
found.  Quite  recently,  Mr.  Luther  Parker,  of  the  Bureau  of  Education  of  the 
Philippines,  found  a  number  of  skulls  and  other  bones  in  several  of  these  caves,  and 


AN  OLD  PHILIPPINE  CODE 


187 


He  who  does  not  observe  this  [order],  shall  be  killed  by  ants,  or 
beaten  with  thorns  until  he  die. 


4th  [ i.e .  5th]  order 

Ye  shall  obey :  he  who  [makes]  exchanges  for  food,  let  it  be 
always  done  in  accordance  with  his  word.1 

He  who  does  not  comply,  shall  be  beaten  for  one  hour,  he  who 
repeats  [the  olfense]  shall  be  exposed  for  one  day  among  ants. 


5th  [i.e.  6th]  order 

Ye  shall  be  obliged  to  revere  sites  that  are  held  in  respect  [such 
as  those  of]  trees  of  recognized  worth,  and  other  sites.2 

He  who  fails  to  comply  shall  pay  with  one  month’s  work  in  gold 
or  in  honey. 


6th  [i.e.  7th] 

They  shall  be  put  to  death :  he  who  kills  trees  of  venerable 
appearance  ;  he  who  shoots  arrows  at  night  at  old  men  and  women ; 
he  who  enters  the  houses  of  the  headmen  [principales]  without 
permission ; 3  he  who  kills  the  fish  [called]  shark,  or  the  streaked 
cayman.4 

he  has  written  a  very  illuminating  paper  concerning  them,  which  it  is  hoped  will 
be  published.  'I 

1  Chirino,  Relation,  Rome,  1604  (see  B.  and  R.,  vol.  12,  p.  282),  says :  “Whether 
their  harvest  be  good  or  bad,  they  never  raise  or  lower  the  price  of  rice  among 
themselves,  which  they  always  sell  one  to  another  at  a  fixed  rate.” 

2  In  common  with  all  peoples  with  an  animistic  form  of  religion,  the  Bisaya 
regarded  certain  kinds  of  trees  (such  as  the  balete)  and  sites  as  objects  of  especial 
reverence  and  awe.  In  the  shade  of  sacred  trees  it  was  common  to  place  or  bury 
offerings  ,  and  offerings  were  left  also  at  the  other  sacred  sites.  Among  the  ignorant 
peasant  class,  notwithstanding  that  all  Filipinos,  properly  so  called,  have  been 
Christians  for  over  three  centuries,  this  reverence  still  lives,  and  in  many  localities, 
natives  are  still  to  be  found,  who,  of  their  own  volition,  would  not  dare  fell  a  sacred 
tree. 

3  Loarca  (B.  and  R.,  vol.  5,  p.  185),  speaking  of  the  Tagalog,  says:  “When 
any  person  entered  the  house  of  a  chief  by  night,  against  the  will  of  the  owner, 
he  incurred  the  death  penalty.  It  was  their  custom  that  when  such  an  offender 
was  caught  he  was  first  tortured,  to  ascertain  whether  any  other  chief  had  sent 
him.  If  he  confessed  that  he  had  been  thus  sent,  he  was  punished  by  enslave¬ 
ment  :  and  he  who  had  sent  him  incurred  the  death  penalty,  but  might  be  released 
therefrom  by  paying  a  certain  amount  of  gold  for  the  crime.” 

4  The  shark  figures  in  several  myths  of  the  early  Filipinos.  Pav6n  relates 
one  wherein  a  shark  caught  by  one  of  the  first  men  in  the  world  was  the  first  of 
all  creatures  to  die.  There  are  no  true  crocodiles  in  the  Philippines.  The  alligator 
is  meant  by  the  cayman. 


188 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


7th  [i.e.  8th] 

Slavery  for  a  daom  (certain  period  of  time)  1  [shall  be  suffered] : 
by  those  who  steal  away  the  women  of  the  headmen  [principales] ; 2 
by  him  who  keeps  ill-tempered  dogs  that  bite  the  headmen  [ prin¬ 
cipales]  ;  by  him  who  burns  the  fields  of  another. 


8th  [i.e.  9th] 

All  those  shall  be  beaten  for  two  days,  who :  sing  while  travel¬ 
ing  by  night ; 3  kill  the  bird  Manaul ;  4  tear  the  documents  be¬ 
longing  to  the  headmen  [ principales \ 5  are  malicious  liars ;  or  mock 
the  dead. 


Daom  is  a  Bisayan  word,  which  Pav6n  retains  and  explains  by  temporada 
that  is,  a  “certain  length  of  time.”  Several  of  the  old  Bisayan  dictionaries  give  a 
word  dayon  (which  is  probably  the  same  word  a3  daom),  the  meaning  of  which 
is  conlinuada,  duradera,  and  perseverante.  This  word  would  indicate  that 
the  slavery  was  to  be  very  long  or  perpetual.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Tagalog 
word  for  year  is  taon,  which  appears  to  be  the  same  word  as  daom. 

*  Loarca  (B.  and  R.,  vol.  5,  p.  141)  says:  “There  are  three  cases  in  which 

these  natives  regard  war  as  just.  The  first  is  when  an  Indian  goes  to  another 
village  and  is  there  put  to  death  without  cause ;  the  second,  when  their  wives  are 
stolen  from  them;  and  the  third  is  when  they  go  in  friendly  manner  to  trade  at 
any  village,  and  there,  under  the  appearance  of  friendship,  are  wronged  or  mal¬ 
treated.”  * 

*  This  order  probably  arose  not  so  much  from  solicitude  lest  people  be  disturbed, 
as  from  fear  that  a  war  party  give  notice  of  its  approach. 

4  In  a  chapter  on  birds  in  his  second  volume,  Pav6n  says  of  the  manaul: 
“  They  say  that  the  manaul,  which  is  one  of  the  birds  resembling  an  eagle,  was 
once  a  powerful  monarch,  who  governed  all  the  birds  of  the  universe.  But  in  the 
course  of  time,  he  became  an  evil  king.  By  means  of  enchantment  he  was  punished 
and  became  incarnate  in  the  bosom  of  a  bird,  so  that  he  might  later  give  a  begin¬ 
ning  to  the  human  race  by  giving  life  to  Sicalac  and  Sicavay.”  The  myths  of  the 
Bisaya  have  many  stories  concerning  this  bird.  The  manaul  of  the  Bisaya  is  akin 
to  the  bathala  of  the  Tagalog,  who  considered  the  latter  as  the  visible  representa¬ 
tion  of  the  supreme  deity.  Sacred  birds  are,  of  course,  common  in  history. 

6  The  documents  which  were  kept,  according  to  Pavon,  consisted  of  the  following : 

“Their  sea  and  land  songs.  War  narratives  and  the  bravery  of  their  ancestors. 

“Stories  of  their  beasts  and  domestic  animals. 

“Stories  concerning  their  mythologies  and  superstitions. 

“Legends  regarding  their  various  dances. 

“Traditions  of  their  sacred  trees. 

“Their  herba  [used]  for  medicinal  remedies.” 

Pavon  says  that  those  of  the  early  Bisaya  who  knew  how  to  write  and  possessed 
documents  were  those  who  overtopped  their  fellows  by  their  might  and  ability, 
and  who  were  generally  of  Chinese  ancestry ;  the  priests ;  the  rowers ;  and  the 
chief  men.  Both  climate  and  materia!  were  against  the  preservation  of  the  docu¬ 
ments.  Materials  consisted  of  deerskin,  parchment  made  from  the  crops  of  hens 
and  other  birds,  various  hard  woods,  leaves  of  plants,  the  outer  layer  of  the  spiny 
bamboo,  baked  clay,  and  gravel.  Their  ink  was  made  from  very  black  resistant 
resins.  The  three  old  Bisayan  MSS.  owned  by  the  Philippine  Library  were  written 
with  ink  probably  made  from  the  cuttlefish,  and  the  material  used  was  the  sheath 
of  the  bofiga  palm. 


AN  OLD  PHILIPPINE  CODE 


189 


9th  [i.e.  10th] 

It  shall  be  an  obligation :  let  every  mother  teach  matters  per¬ 
taining  to  lust  secretly  to  her  daughters,  and  prepare  them  for 
womanhood ;  let  not  men  be  cruel  nor  punish  their  women  when 
they  catch  them  in  the  act  of  adultery.1 

Whoever  shall  disobey  shall  be  killed  [by  being  cut]  to  pieces 
and  thrown  to  the  caymans. 

10th  [i.e.  11th] 

They  shall  be  burned :  those  who  by  their  strength  or  cunning 
have  mocked  at  and  escaped  punishment;  or  who  have  killed 
young  boys ;  or  try  to  steal  away  the  women  of  agorangs .2 

11th  [i.e.  12th] 

They  shall  be  drowned :  All  those  slaves  who  interfere  with 
their  superiors,  or  their  owners  or  masters ;  all  those  who  abuse 
themselves  through  their  lust ;  those  who  destroy  their  anitos  3 
by  breaking  them  or  throwing  them  down. 

12th  [i.e.  13th] 

All  those  shall  be  exposed  to  the  ants  for  half  a  day :  who  kill 
black  cats  during  a  new  moon  ;  4  or  steal  anything  from  the  chiefs 
and  agorangs,  however  small  it  be. 

1  Possibly  a  reference  to  the  deflowering  of  young  girls.  Loarca  (B.  and  R., 
vol.  5,  p.  157),  quoting  part  of  a  marriage  ceremony,  says:  "If  the  man  should 
through  dissolute  conduct  fail  to  support  his  wife,  she  will  leave  him,  and  shall 
not  be  compelled  to  return  anything  of  the  dowry,  that  he  has  given  her ;  and  she 
shall  have  freedom  and  permission  to  marry  another  man.  And,  therefore  should 
the  woman  betray  her  husband,  he  can  take  away  the  dowry  that  he  gave  her, 
leave  her,  and  marry  another  woman.”  When  the  adulterer  had  once  paid  the 
fine  decreed  to  the  wronged  husband,  the  incident  was  considered  closed,  and  the 
woman  was  not  considered  disgraced  (Colin,  in  B.  and  R.,  vol.  40,  p.  92). 

2  An  unpublished  history  of  Negros,  written  by  the  Spanish  encomendero,  Diego 
Lope  Povedano,  in  1572,  and  preserved  in  the  Philippine  Library,  says  that  mar¬ 
riages  were  performed  by  an  old  man  called  the  agorang.  The  word  probably 
has  some  connection  with  the  Tagalog  word  gulang  (Bikol,  gurang)  meaning 
"age.”  It  may  also  be  connected  with  the  Malay  orang  kaya,  meaning  "rich 
man”  (see  Favre,  Dictionnaire  Fran$ais-Malais  (Vienne,  1880).  Combes  mentions 
a  term  orancaya,  which  was  used  among  the  Subano  mountaineers  of  Mindanao, 
as  the  equivalent  of  "rich  man.” 

3  The  belief  in  the  anito  was  common  among  all  Philippine  Malayan  peoples, 
and  is  still  met  with  among  the  wild  peoples.  Everything,  animate  and  inanimate, 
was  supposed  to  have  its  anito  or  spirit,  some  of  which  were  good  and  some  evil. 
The  reverence  given  the  anito  might  be  on  account  of  fear.  In  the  text,  reference 
is  made  to  idols  which  were  supposed  to  be  the  representatives  of  certain  spirits. 

4  The  black  cat  figures  in  several  of  the  old  stories  of  the  Bisaya,  and  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  new  or  full  moon. 


190 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


13th  [i.e.  14th] 

Those  shall  be  made  slaves  for  life  :  who  have  beautiful  daugh¬ 
ters  and  deny  them  to  the  sons  of  chiefs,  and  with  bad  faith  hide 
them  away. 

14th  [i.e.  15th] 

Which  concerns  their  beliefs  and  superstitions.1  Those  shall 
be  beaten :  who  eat  the  diseased  flesh  [carnes  malas]  of  the  beasts 
which  they  hold  in  respect,  or  the  herbs  which  they  consider 
good ; 2  who  wound  or  kill  the  young  of  Manaul,  or  the  white 
monkey. 


15th  [i.e.  16th] 

The  fingers  shall  be  cut  off :  of  all  those  who  break  idols  of 
wood  and  clay  in  their  olangans  3  and  temples ;  of  those  who 
destroy  the  daggers  of  the  iagalonas  4  [used]  for  killing  pigs,  or 
break  the  drinking  jars  [of  the  latter]. 


16th  [i.e.  17th] 

Those  shall  be  killed  who  profane  sites  where  idols  are  kept,  and 
sites  where  are  buried  the  sacred  things  of  their  diuatas  5  and 
headmen.  He  who  performs  his  necessities  in  those  places  shall 
be  burned. 

1  An  interpolation  by  Pav6n  or  by  the  translator  of  the  original  Bisaya. 

1  The  Spanish  of  this  passage  seems  hopelessly  confused,  and  may  be  due  to 
errors  on  the  part  of  Pavdn’s  amanuensis.  The  reading  given  is  merely  an  attempt 
at  translation. 

*  The  Bisayan  dictionaries  examined  do  not  give  this  word.  It  is,  perhaps, 
connected  with  the  word  lofigon,  meaning  “grave,”  or  the  Bikol  word  lagfian, 
meaning  “place  of  shelter.”  E.  S.  Schneider,  of  the  forestry  service  of  the  Philip¬ 
pines,  who  is  one  of  the  best  American  linguists  in  Manila,  quotes  John  Garvan, 
formerly  of  the  Division  of  Ethnology  of  the  Bureau  of  Science  of  the  Philippines, 
to  the  effect  that  certain  Mindanao  hill  people  have  a  word  alafigan  or  olofigan, 
to  designate  little  temporary  shrines  or  offering  places  erected  by  them  for  their 
pagan  worship. 

4  The  priest  or  priestess  who  performed  the  sacrifices.  See  a  good  description 
of  the  sacrifice  of  a  pig  in  Robertson,  Magellan' s  Journey  Around  the  World  (Cleve¬ 
land,  1906),  vol.  1,  pp.  163-167.  The  method  as  described  by  Pigafetta,  is  practi¬ 
cally  identical  with  that  practiced  by  the  hill  people  of  Panay  at  the  present  time 
—  as  witnessed  in  1912  by  Mr.  Parker  of  the  Bureau  of  Education. 

6  This  may  refer  to  the  offerings  made  to  the  spirits  and  idols.  Diautas  may 
refer  directly  to  the  diety. 


AN  OLD  PHILIPPINE  CODE 


191 


17th  [ i.e .  18th] 

Those  who  do  not  cause  these  rules  to  be  obeyed :  if  they  are 
headmen  [principales]  they  shall  be  put  to  death  by  being  stoned 
and  crushed ;  and  if  they  are  agorangs,  they  shall  be  placed  in 
rivers,  to  be  eaten  by  sharks  and  caymans. 

Done  in  the  year  1433. 1 

Calantiao,  3d  Regulo 


1  Pav6n  gives  no  clue  as  to  his  method  of  fixing  this  date. 


TROUBLES  OF  AN  ENGLISH  GOVERNOR  OF  THE 
PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS 


Karl  C.  Leebrick 

Few  American  students,  even  those  well  versed  in  the  history 
of  the  Philippine  Islands,  know  that  Mr.  Taft  and  his  successors 
had  an  English  predecessor  in  the  government  house  at  Manila 
more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  Students  of  Euro¬ 
pean  history  are  all  acquainted  with  the  fact  that  among  the 
various  expeditions  directed  against  the  possessions  of  France  and 
Spain  during  the  “Seven  Years’  War”  by  the  British  government, 
there  was  one  successfully  launched  against  the  Philippines; 
but  very  few  of  them  know  that  it  was  the  intent  of  the  expedi¬ 
tion  not  only  to  seize  Manila  but  also  to  annex  the  Philippine 
Islands. 

The  story  of  General  Draper’s  capture  of  Manila  in  1762  is 
practically  neglected  in  all  the  secondary  histories  of  the  “Seven 
Years’  War.”  It  was  a  brilliant  feat  of  arms  successfully  carried 
out  by  the  friendly  cooperation  of  military  and  naval  officers 
despatched  from  the  East  India  Company’s  military  post  of  Fort 
St.  George  at  Madras.  When  the  expedition  was  planned  in 
London  by  Colonel  Draper,  afterwards  better  known  as  Sir  Wil¬ 
liam  Draper,  and  as  the  controversialist  whose  name  appears  so 
often  in  the  “Letters  of  Junius,”  it  was  agreed  that  the  burden 
of  expense  should  fall  upon  the  East  India  Company.  Hence  the 
Directors  of  the  Company  in  London  sent  instructions  to  the 
Governor  and  Council  at  Madras  to  cooperate  in  every  possible 
way  with  General  Draper  and  Rear-Admiral  Cornish,  command¬ 
ing  His  Majesty’s  ships  on  that  station.  But  at  the  same  time  the 
Directors  of  the  East  India  Company  in  London  sent  orders  that 
the  military  and  naval  expedition  was  to  be  provided  with  a  civil 
establishment  for  the  taking  over  of  the  direct  administration  of 

192 


TROUBLES  OF  AN  ENGLISH  GOVERNOR 


193 


what  should  be  conquered  in  the  Philippine  Islands  as  soon  as 
the  capture  of  Manila  was  completed. 

The  Company’s  civil  servant,  appointed  to  the  position  of 
deputy  and  provisional  governor  of  Manila,  was  Mr.  Dawsonne 
Drake,  with  whose  troubled  experiences  as  English  governor  of 
Manila  and  the  Philippine  Islands  this  paper  is  concerned. 

The  material  for  this  unrelated  episode  in  the  history  of  the 
East  India  Company  and  the  Philippine  Islands  is  contained  in 
the  papers  preserved  in  the  Record  Office  at  Madras  of  the  Presi¬ 
dency  of  Fort  St.  George.  Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  H. 
Dodwell,  Curator  of  Records  at  Fort  St.  George,  Madras,  tran¬ 
scripts  of  the  series  of  manuscript  documents,  known  as  the  “  Ma¬ 
nila  Records,”  were  recently  obtained.  Upon  the  basis  of  these 
transcripts  it  has  not  only  been  possible  to  draw  up  a  complete 
account  of  the  expedition  to  the  Philippine  Islands  in  1762,  in 
much  more  detail  than  could  be  obtained  from  English  and 
Spanish  sources,  but  there  was  also  developed  the  story  of  the 
strange  career  and  unfortunate  surroundings  of  Mr.  Dawsonne 
Drake. 

The  volumes  of  transcripts  may  be  summarized  under  the 
following  heads : 

(a)  Diaries  and  Consultations  of  the  Deputy-Governor  and 
Council  of  Manila,  being  the  minutes  of  the  meetings  of  the  Coun¬ 
cil  for  carrying  on  the  civil  government  together  with  all  com¬ 
munications  received  and  sent  by  the  Deputy-Governor  and 
Council  at  Manila.1 

( b )  Diaries  and  Military  Consultations  of  the  Deputy-Gover¬ 
nor  and  Council  of  Manila,  which  are  similar  to  the  records  kept 
by  the  civil  government  but  concerning  things  military.2 

(c)  Letters  to  Manila,  being  a  file  of  official  letters  received 
at  Manila  from  miscellaneous  sources.3 

( d )  Letters  from  Manila,  being  a  file  of  official  letters  de¬ 
spatched  by  the  Deputy-Governor  and  Council  of  Manila.4 

(e)  Report  of  the  investigation  into  the  conduct  of  Dawsonne 

1  Diaries  and  Consultations  of  Dawsonne  Drake  Esq.,  Deputy  Gov.  etc.  and 
Council  of  Manila  (Manila  Records,  vols.  1,  6,  23,  10,  27,  28,  26). 

2  Ibid.,  vols.  2,  5,  7,  9,  9a. 

3  Letters  to  Manila  (Manila  Records,  vol.  4). 

*  Letters  from  Manila  (Manila  Records,  vol.  3). 

O 


194 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Drake,  Deputy-Governor  of  Manila,  together  with  all  the  evidence 
gathered  during  the  investigations.1 

These  records  form  the  very  best  sort  of  primary  historical 
material ;  they  are  not  only  contemporary,  but  official.  While 
giving  a  complete  account  of  what  happened  at  Manila,  they  also 
contain  the  details  of  the  administration  of  the  East  India  Com¬ 
pany  officials  from  an  important  point  of  view,  for  the  account  of 
events  and  the  judgments  passed  were  in  the  nature  of  reports 
submitted  to  masters,  and,  therefore,  liable  to  correction  and 
appeal.  Although  the  basis  of  the  story  of  Dawsonne  Drake’s 
governorship  is  to  be  found  in  the  Manila  Records  at  Madras, 
these  have  been  carefully  checked  and  supplemented  by  tran¬ 
scripts  made  in  the  London  Record  Office  and  the  British  Museum,2 
of  the  reports  sent  to  the  War  Office,  the  Admiralty  Office,  the 
Colonial  Office,  etc.,  by  the  military  and  naval  commanders  who 
served  with  or  under  Deputy-Governor  Drake,  and  who  made  the 
usual  reports,  as  well  as  bitter  complaints  of  the  unwarranted 
treatment  of  soldiers  and  sailors  holding  His  Majesty’s  commis¬ 
sion  by  a  mere  civil  servant  of  a  company  of  traders. 

In  order  to  see  the  other  side  of  the  story  an  examination  has 
been  made  of  the  Spanish  documents  3  dealing  with  the  loss  of 
Manila  and  the  governorship  of  Dawsonne  Drake;  but  detailed 
use  has  not  been  made  of  them  in  this  paper,  which  is  intended 
rather  to  show  the  difficult  position  of  an  English  governor  of  the 
Philippine  Islands  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  than  to  pre¬ 
sent  a  minute  account  of  the  struggle  between  the  English  and 
the  Spaniards. 

The  difficulties  in  which  Mr.  Drake  found  himself  involved 
soon  after  he  took  over  the  government  of  Manila  were  due  as 
much  to  the  nature  of  his  position  as  to  any  weakness  of  tem- 


1  Military  Sundry  Book :  Proceedings  containing  the  investigation  made  by  order 
of  the  Court  of  Directors  into  the  conduct  of  Dawsonne  Drake,  Esq.  Deputy  Gov.,  etc. 
of  Manila  (Manila  Records,  vol.  34). 

2  For  a  calendar  of  these  documents  see  K.  C.  Leebrick,  The  English  Expedition 
to  Manila  in  1762,  and  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Islands  by  the  East  India 
Company  (pp.  229-279).  This  is  a  manuscript  thesis  in  the  University  of  California 
Library.  These  documents  have  been  quoted  as  “Miscellaneous  Documents 
No.  200”  etc. 

2  The  Spanish  documents  are  calendared  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Miscel¬ 
laneous  Documents  and  are  quoted  here  as  “Spanish  Documents,  No.  1”  etc. 
They  consist  in  the  main  of  copies  made  in  the  Archivo  General  de  Indias  at  Sevilla, 
Spain.  See  K.  C.  Leebrick,  The  English  Expedition  to  Manila  in  1762,  p.  230. 


TROUBLES  OF  AN  ENGLISH  GOVERNOR 


195 


perament  or  conduct ;  a  trading  company  commanding  troops 
was  sure  to  lead  to  trouble.  Even  in  the  early  history  of  the 
factories  at  what  afterwards  became  the  important  Presidency 
towns  of  Calcutta,  Madras,  and  Bombay,  there  are  many  stories 
of  disputes  between  the  merchants  and  soldiers  in  the  seventeenth 
century.  As  soon  as  the  Company’s  soldiers  grew  beyond  being 
mere  police  guards,  and  military  commands  in  the  Company’s 
service  were  conferred  upon  the  officers,  the  ineradicable  tendency 
of  the  man  of  war  to  condemn  the  man  of  peace  showed  itself. 
The  well-brought-up  merchant,  accustomed  to  business  methods 
and  to  having  his  time  fully  occupied  in  keeping  his  books  and 
preparing  the  purchases  for  the  Company’s  interests,  had  little 
respect  for  the  military  officer  who  despised  business  and  did  not 
understand  its  details.  But  the  situation  became  worse  when 
the  royal  troops  and  ships  commanded  by  officers  bearing  royal 
commissions  were  sent  out  to  India  to  defend  the  East  India 
Company’s  possessions.  It  seemed  intolerable  to  these  gentle¬ 
men  that  they  should  have  to  obey  the  orders  of  mere  merchants 
commissioned  by  the  Honorable  East  India  Company ;  and  they 
also  had  their  quarrels  on  the  side  with  the  commanders  of  the 
Company’s  forces.  The  characteristic  English  tendency  to  sub¬ 
ordinate  the  military  to  the  civil  officials  marks  the  entire  history 
of  the  East  India  Company  in  India,  but  this  policy  was  marked 
by  the  constant  recurrence  of  the  reluctance  of  the  military 
men  to  accept  the  situation.  From  the  first  moment,  as  will 
be  seen,  that  Mr.  Drake  took  over  the  governorship  of  the  Philip¬ 
pine  Islands,  he  had  to  deal  with  the  constant  opposition  of  His 
Majesty’s  military  and  naval  officers  left  at  Manila  to  protect 
the  new  conquest. 

But  that  was  not  all.  The  Directors  of  the  Honorable  East 
India  Company  seldom  trusted  their  individual  servants,  because 
they  believed  in  the  commission  form  of  government  from  the 
very  first.  All  of  their  factories,  not  only  the  great  Presidencies 
at  Calcutta,  Madras,  and  Bombay,  but  also  the  smaller  factories 
like  Masulipatam  on  the  Coromandel  Coast  and  Fort  Marlborough 
on  the  Island  of  Sumatra  were  always  intrusted  to  a  governor  and 
a  council  of  two  or  more  members.  The  governor  was  indeed 
the  recognized  chief  executive,  but  he  could  do  nothing  without 


196 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


laying  his  plans,  his  orders,  and  his  despatches  before  an  advisory 
council,  which  was  often  at  open  variance  with  his  policy  and  his 
person.  The  classic  instance  of  the  struggle  between  a  governor 
and  his  councillors  is  that  so  wonderfully  given  by  Lord  Macaulay 
in  his  essay  on  Warren  Hastings.1  Sometimes  a  governor  was 
able  to  get  rid  of  some  of  his  councillors  by  using  his  command 
of  the  military  forces,  but  sometimes  the  councillors  overcame  the 
governor,  as  in  the  case  of  George,  Lord  Pigot,  the  very  man  who 
superintended  the  despatch  of  the  expedition  to  Manila,  but  who 
afterwards  in  1771,  on  his  reappointment  to  Madras,  was  impris¬ 
oned  by  his  council  and  died  in  confinement. 

If  in  peaceful  times  in  India  a  chief  executive  had  to  maintain  his 
authority  against  his  own  councillors,  against  the  officers  of  the 
Company’s  forces  and  above  all  against  the  officers  of  the  royal 
forces,  it  can  be  well  understood  that  a  governor  appointed  to  take 
charge  of  the  administration  of  a  new  conquest  would  need  to  be  a 
man  of  most  extraordinary  capacity  to  keep  the  peace  with  his  coun¬ 
cillors  and  his  naval  and  military  officers,  in  addition  to  extend¬ 
ing  the  sway  of  the  Honorable  Company.  This  was  Mr.  Drake’s 
duty ;  for,  after  the  conquest  of  Manila,  he  was  expected  to  ex¬ 
tend  the  Company’s  control  over  all  the  Spanish  settlements  in  the 
Philippine  Islands.  It  was  also  Mr.  Drake’s  business  to  handle 
a  complicated  financial  situation,  for  he  had  not  only  to  administer 
the  conquest  but  to  make  it  pay ;  and  he  had  to  make  it  pay  not 
only  in  taxes  but  through  the  promotion  of  the  East  India  Com¬ 
pany’s  trade.  He  had  not  only  to  face  the  government  of  a 
city  still  occupied  by  Spanish  officials  and  citizens,  but  had  to 
deal  with  the  difficult  religious  situation  which  was  presented  by 
the  influence  of  the  Catholic  clergy  and  particularly  of  the  friars 
in  the  Philippine  Islands.  He  had  not  only  to  deal  with  the 
Spanish  civil  and  military  officers  and  the  clergy,  but  also  with 
various  peoples  of  Malay  origin,  from  the  comparatively  civilized 
population  about  Manila  to  the  savage  Mohammedan  Moros  of 
Sulu  or  Jolo.  He  had  also  to  learn  to  understand  the  curious 
questions  presented  by  the  Chinese  quarter  of  Manila  and  the 
activities  of  the  Chinese  merchants  and  artisans.  These  and 

1  Macaulay,  T.  B.,  Critical,  Historical,  and  Miscellaneous  Essays  and  Poems 
(Boston,  1880,  3  vols.),  vol.  2,  pp.  554-657. 


TROUBLES  OF  AN  ENGLISH  GOVERNOR 


197 


many  other  matters  formed  a  sufficient  basis  for  innumerable 
difficulties  even  for  a  trained  and  highly  competent  administra¬ 
tor,  well  versed  in  the  Spanish  language  and  the  traditions  of  the 
church  and  government  of  His  Most  Catholic  Majesty  in  the 
Philippine  Islands. 

But  the  position  fell,  not  to  an  expert  in  administration,  in 
finance,  in  war,  and  in  diplomacy,  but  to  a  very  simple  minded 
Company’s  civil  servant  who  was  born  in  Madras  and  who  seems 
to  have  lived  all  his  life  in  India.  Mr.  Henry  Dodwell,  the 
Curator  of  Madras  Records,  in  a  letter  dated  at  Madras,  May  4, 
1915,  writes  that  Dawsonne  Drake  “was  the  son  of  George  Drake 
(I  believe  a  Company’s  servant)  and  Sophia,  nee  Bugden  and 
was  born  at  Madras  in  1724.”  1  The  name  of  Drake  is  frequently 
met  with  in  the  lists  of  the  East  India  Company’s  servants  during 
the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  One  Drake  was 
governor  of  Fort  William  or  Calcutta  in  1756,  and  fled  away  from 
the  city,  leaving  it  at  the  mercy  of  the  young  Nabob  by  whose 
command  was  perpetrated  the  tragedy  of  the  “Black  Hole  of 
Calcutta.”  Another  Drake  was  a  director  of  the  East  India 
Company  for  twenty  years,  from  1738  to  1758 ;  2  and,  indeed,  from 
the  mild  treatment,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  which  was  meted  out 
to  the  English  governor  of  the  Philippine  Islands  after  his  trouble¬ 
some  experiences  there,  it  might  be  assumed  that  he  possessed 
powerful  influence  in  the  Court  of  Directors  of  the  East  India 
Company  in  London.  The  peculiar  spelling  of  his  first  name, 
“Dawsonne,”  probably  indicates  his  relationship  with  another 
director  of  the  East  India  Company,  William  Dawsonne,  who 
held  office  from  1710  to  1722. 3 

Mr.  Drake  was  born  at  Madras  in  1724,  according  to  Mr.  Dod- 
well’s  statement,  and  it  is  stated  in  Prinsep’s  Record  of  Services 
of  Madras  Civilians ,4  that  Dawsonne  Drake  was  appointed  a 
Writer  in  the  East  India  Company’s  Madras  Civil  Service  at  the 
age  of  eighteen,  in  1742.  He  was  probably  educated  in  England, 
like  most  of  his  contemporaries,  but  may  never  have  left  India; 


1  A  letter  from  Mr.  H.  Dodwell,  Madras  Record  office,  May  4,  1915  in  my 

possession  ;  a  copy  is  appended  to  vol.  34  of  Manila  Records. 

3  Prinsep,  C.  C.,  Record  of  Services  of  the  Honorable  East  India  Company’s  Civil 
Servants  in  the  Madras  Presidency  from  17^1  to  1868  (London,  1885),  p.  XII. 

3  Ibid,,  p.  XII.  *  Ibid.,  p.  46. 


198 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


but  even  if  educated  in  England  he  was  not  likely  to  have  been 
very  highly  instructed,  since  the  entire  test  imposed  for  a  Writer- 
ship  in  the  East  India  Company’s  service  in  the  early  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century  was,  as  we  know  from  the  biographies  of  Robert 
Clive  and  Warren  Hastings,  confined  to  simple  bookkeeping  and 
handwriting.  Mr.  Drake  continued  in  the  Company’s  service 
and  got  into  trouble  in  1755  as  a  young  man  of  thirty-one  with 
thirteen  years  as  a  civil  servant  to  his  credit,  for  Mr.  Dodwell 
writes : 1  “  Before  his  Manilla  affair  he  had  already  been  dismissed 
by  the  Madras  Council ;  that  was  in  1755,  when  he  was  Chief 
at  Devikotai  (or  Devikota)  on  the  coast  of  Tanjore.  It 
was  desired  to  send  supervisors  to  set  straight  the  adminis¬ 
tration  of  the  west  coast  of  Sumatra,  where  irregularities 
were  chronic.  That  post  was  looked  upon  as  extremely  un¬ 
healthful  and  Drake,  when  ordered  to  go,  refused  on  the  plea 
of  ill  health.  The  Council  dismissed  him,  but  the  Company 
reinstated  him.” 

It  is  a  curious  commentary  upon  this  episode  in  Dawsonne 
Drake’s  life  that  he  should  have  eventually  got  his  little  niche  in 
history  by  being  sent  to  the  Philippine  Islands  after  refusing  to 
go  to  Sumatra,  and  that  he  should  have  been  suspended  from  his 
seat  in  Council  by  the  Madras  officials  in  1767,  and  once  again 
reinstated  by  orders  of  the  Directors  of  the  East  India  Company 
in  London,  in  1768. 2 

General  Draper  interpreted  his  “Instructions”  3  to  mean  that 
as  soon  as  Manila  was  captured,  the  capitulation  arranged  and  the 
proper  invoices  taken,  he  should  promptly  deliver  the  government 
of  the  city  over  to  the  civil  servants  of  the  Honorable  East  India 
Company,  who  accompanied  the  expedition  for  that  purpose. 
He  accordingly  gave  notice  on  the  first  of  November,  1762,  twenty- 
five  days  after  the  storming  of  the  city,  that  he  would  turn  the 
government  over  to  them  on  the  following  day.  Mr.  Drake  and 
his  council  were  particular  to  stipulate  according  to  their  “Instruc¬ 
tions,”  that  they  would  not  accept  the  government  unless  they 
were  to  receive  absolute  control.  General  Draper  informed  them 
that  he  had  given  no  orders  which  limited  their  authority,  and  on 

1  Mr.  H.  Dodwell’s  Letter,  May  4,  1915.  :  Ibid. 

3  Miscellaneous  Documents,  No.  2. 


TROUBLES  OF  AN  ENGLISH  GOVERNOR 


199 


November  2,  1762,  the  city  of  Manila  and  the  Philippine  Islands 
were  delivered  over  “  in  every  respect  upon  the  same  footing  with 
the  Hon’ble  Company’s  Possessions  in  India,”  in  the  following 
manner :  “  Mr.  Drake  attended  by  the  Council  was  conducted  by 
him  [General  Draper]  to  the  Royal  Palace  and  the  Artillery  Salut¬ 
ing  with  15  Guns  was  there  declared  Governor  of  Manillia  and  all 
its  Dependancies  in  the  presence  of  the  Officers  of  the  Garrison, 
His  Excellency  the  Archbishop,  the  late  Governor,  with  his  Royal 
Audience  and  the  Principal  Inhabitants  of  the  City.”  1  Governor 
Drake  was  associated  with  a  council  of  four,  consisting  of  John 
Lewin  Smith,  Henry  Brooke,  Claud  Russel,  and  Samuel  Johnson, 
all  of  whom  had  been  in  the  service  of  the  Company  at  Madras  for 
a  considerable  length  of  time.2 

Although  Deputy-Governor  Drake  had  been  very  careful  to 
have  General  Draper  publicly  declare  that  the  agents  of  the  East 
India  Company  were  possessed  of  all  the  powers  of  government  at 
Manila  and  that  the  military  and  naval  forces  left  there  were 
under  his  command,  disputes  broke  out  almost  immediately 
between  him  and  the  royal  officers.  This  constituted  a  constant 
annoyance  to  Mr.  Drake  and  often  made  his  position  very  difficult. 
The  first  act  of  the  new  government  wTas  to  inform  Admiral  Corn¬ 
ish,  at  Cavite,  of  the  transfer  of  the  place  to  them  and  to  pay  to 
him  the  same  compliment  as  to  Draper  by  offering  to  an  officer  of 
his  nomination  the  command  of  the  naval  base  and  of  Cavite.3 
Admiral  Cornish  asked  for  the  command  for  himself,4  which 
pleased  the  governor  and  council  who  by  this  means  were  able 
for  a  time  to  rid  themselves  of  the  government  of  this  detached 
post.  At  the  same  time  the  Admiral  objected  to  their  taking 
charge  of  the  government  at  Manila  because  General  Draper  had 
acted  without  his  consent,  and  on  the  ground  that  the  conquest 
was  not  complete,5  and  thus  a  dispute  was  created  which  was 
never  cleared  away.  Many  misunderstandings  and  violent 

1  Manila  Records,  vol.  1,  p.  17. 

1  Henry  Brooke  was  appointed  a  writer  in  the  Madras  Civil  Service  in  1751  ; 
Claud  Russel  and  John  Lewin  Smith  in  1752;  and  Samuel  Johnson  in  1754.  See 
Prinsep,  C.  C.,  Record  of  Services  of  the  Honorable  East  India  Company's  Servants 
in  the  Madras  Presidency.  Also  see  Selections  from  the  Military  Consultations  of 
1762  (Madras),  general  Nos.  16  and  17.  Extracts  from  the  military  consulta¬ 
tions  of  1762  containing  "instructions”  for  the  deputy-governor  and  council  of 
Manila,  as  well  as  "further  instructions.” 

3  Manila  Records,  vol.  1,  p.  18.  *Ibid.,  vol.  1,  p.  67.  1  Ibid.,  vol.  3,  p.  28. 


200 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


differences  occurred  between  these  two  officials.  The  first  of  these 
was  over  the  four  million  dollars  agreed  upon  in  the  terms  of 
capitulation  of  Manila  as  a  ransom  to  save  the  city  from  a  syste¬ 
matic  looting.  The  Spaniards  were  slow  in  paying  the  money; 
and  as  time  dragged  on,  Admiral  Cornish  became  impatient  and 
wished  to  use  drastic  measures,  such  as  forcing  the  Chinese  to 
contribute,  and  a  thorough  looting  of  Manila,  Cavite,  and  the 
near-by  towns,  if  the  Spaniards  did  not  at  once  make  good  the 
full  amount  of  the  ransom.1  Governor  Drake  with  extreme 
difficulty  forced  Admiral  Cornish  to  give  up  these  plans  and  then 
only  by  a  threat  of  using  force.  Every  opportunity  to  accuse 
and  oppose  each  other  was  eagerly  seized  after  this ;  an  attack  on 
a  village  near  Cavite  by  the  Admiral’s  orders  to  dislodge  Spanish 
troops  was  magnified  by  Mr.  Drake  into  a  systematic  plundering 
expedition,  undertaken  in  a  spirit  of  vengeance.  All  requests  by 
the  authorities  at  Manila  for  help  or  cooperation  from  His  Maj¬ 
esty’s  fleet  were  first  refused  and  only  secured,  if  at  all,  by  re¬ 
peated  and  earnest  petition ;  but  generally  they  were  met  with 
sharp  refusals  and  plenty  of  advice  upon  how  to  handle  the  situa¬ 
tion.  When  Admiral  Cornish  began  to  prepare  to  take  the  fleet 
to  India  he  was  requested  by  Governor  Drake  to  leave  some  of  the 
ships  for  their  protection.  This  he  refused  to  do.  The  entire 
civil  and  military  councils  petitioned  him  to  aid  them ;  they 
wrote  that  “the  great  dependence  we  have  upon  your  experi¬ 
enced  Zeal  for  the  service  leaves  us  no  room  to  doubt ;  the  neces¬ 
sity  of  keeping  open  the  Communication  with  Cavita  and  aiding 
the  adjacent  Islands  by  the  appearance  of  a  naval  Force  must 
have  occurr’d  to  you  in  its  strongest  light.”  2  To  this  letter 
Admiral  Cornish  testily  replied :  “  I  have  this  moment  received 
your  very  extraordinary  Letter;  .  .  .  without  giving  the  Presi¬ 
dent  and  Council  leave  to  Judge  of  my  Zeal  for  the  public  service 
I  am  to  acquaint  you  that  in  Consequence  of  my  Instructions, 
when  the  squadron  is  refitted,  I  shall  proceed  with  my  whole 
Force  to  Madras.”  3  This  matter  was  finally  arranged  so  that 
a  small  naval  force  was  left.  A  fresh  altercation  broke  out  a  little 
later  over  M.  Faillet,  a  Frenchman  in  the  Spanish  service,  who 

1  Miscellaneous  Documents,  No.  146.  2  Manila  Records,  vol.  3,  p.  22. 

3  Ibid..,  pp.  27-28. 


TROUBLES  OF  AN  ENGLISH  GOVERNOR 


201 


had  become  the  companion  and  advisor  of  Mr.  Drake.  He  had 
written  a  letter  to  a  friend  in  Batavia  1  which  threw  aspersions 
upon  the  Admiral ;  this  and  other  derogatory  information  led 
Cornish  to  the  demand  that  M.  Faillet  be  arrested  and  delivered 
to  him  to  carry  to  Madras  for  trial.  The  governor  refused  this 
peremptory  request,  which  resulted  in  a  quarrel  that  lasted 
throughout  the  English  occupation  of  Manila,  and  so  angered 
Admiral  Cornish  that  he  tried  to  stir  up  trouble  among  the  Chi¬ 
nese  2  before  his  departure  for  Madras.  Upon  his  arrival  at 
that  place  he  not  only  laid  charges  against  Mr.  Drake  but  also 
sent  complaints  to  England. 

This  dispute  with  Admiral  Cornish  over  M.  Faillet  led  to  a 
more  severe  quarrel  between  Mr.  Drake  and  Major  Fell  of  the 
79th  Regiment,  the  commandant  at  Manila.  As  a  result  of  the 
Admiral’s  representations  to  the  Madras  officials,  orders  were 
sent  3  to  Mr.  Drake  to  arrest  M.  Faillet  and  deliver  him  to  Cap¬ 
tain  Brereton  of  H.M.S.  Falmouth.  When  the  order  arrived,  the 
news  reached  Faillet  in  time  for  him  to  escape  before  Mr.  Drake 
could  send  him  aboard.  He  wras  finally  captured  and  imprisoned, 
but  as  a  result  of  promises  and  petitions,  Governor  Drake  and  his 
council  voted  not  to  send  him  on  board  H.M.S.  Falmouth,  but  to 
send  him  to  Madras  in  a  Company’s  ship,  because  of  the  quarrel 
with  Captain  Brereton. 

Major  Fell  and  Captain  Brereton  agreed  that  the  prisoner  should 
be  secured  even  if  force  were  necessary,  and  orders  were  given  by 
Major  Fell  to  Captain  Du  Pont  of  the  79th  Regiment  to  secure 
M.  Faillet  and  deliver  him  to  a  lieutenant  on  a  boat  sent  to  receive 
him.4  This  order  was  shown  to  Mr.  Drake  who  ordered  that  it 
should  not  be  executed,  and  called  a  council  meeting  which  deter¬ 
mined  to  place  Major  Fell  under  arrest,5  and  to  place  Captain  Back¬ 
house  in  command  of  the  79th  Regiment.  That  evening  after 
M.  Faillet  had  been  forcibly  removed  to  H.M.S.  Falmouth,  Cap¬ 
tain  Faisan  of  the  79th  Regiment,  officer  of  the  day,  acting  under 
orders  from  Governor  Drake,  tried  to  place  Major  Fell  under 
arrest.  He  met  with  resistance  and  retired  to  the  Royal  Palace 
to  consult  with  Mr.  Drake,  who  with  other  officers  returned  with 

1  Manila  Records,  vol.  4,  pp.  1-5,  8-11,  19. 

2  Ibid..,  vol.  34,  p.  179.  *  Miscellaneous  Documents,  No.  128. 

8  Ibid.,  vol.  4,  p.  19.  6  Manila  Records,  vol.  15,  p.  722. 


202 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


him  to  the  parade  ground.  They  approached  Major  Fell  and  a 
quarrel  took  place,  during  which  the  governor  drew  his  sword 
and  Major  Fell,  failing  to  draw  his,  snatched  a  gun  from  one  of 
the  soldiers.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  the  two  were  separated 
before  they  had  harmed  each  other.  Major  Fell  escaped  to 
Cavite  where  he  later  was  taken  prisoner  and  gave  his  word  of 
honor  to  proceed  to  Madras  for  trial.1  Captain  Brereton  was 
anxious  to  use  the  force  at  his  disposal  to  liberate  Major  Fell, 
but  was  prevented  from  doing  so  by  the  Major  himself.  Mr. 
Drake  says  in  speaking  of  this  affair :  “  Major  Fell’s  orders  to 
Captain  Dupont  were  such  as  cannot  be  justified.  They  carry 
mutiny  throughout.2  The  conduct  of  Major  Fell  was  univer¬ 
sally  condemned  and  his  parting  words  to  some  of  the  supra  cargoes 
of  Canton  shewed  his  despair  of  an  acquittal,  and  I  believe  it  is 
no  secret  he  was  very  sensible  of  his  Error  before  he  arrived  at 
Madras.”  3  After  Major  Fell’s  departure,  Mr.  Drake  secured  the 
upper  hand  again  for  a  time. 

Captain  Brereton  of  H.M.S.  Falmouth,  left  by  Admiral  Cornish 
in  charge  of  the  squadron  at  Cavite,  also  had  difficulties  with  Mr. 
Drake  over  this  same  question.  Captain  Brereton  wrote  to  Mr. 
Drake  regarding  the  imprisonment  of  M.  Faillet :  “If  you  have 
any  Honor,  or  hope  to  have  Your  Word  given  any  Credit  to,  I 
expect  you  will  immediately  cause  the  said  Mr.  Faillet  to  be 
given  up.”  4  To  which  Governor  Drake  replied:  “You  may 
tell  Captain  Brereton  that  when  he  learns  how  to  write  with 
more  Politeness  and  Respect  and  as  becoming  a  Gentleman  to 
another,  he  may  expect  to  have  Letters  answered  and  paid  some 
attention  to,  but  till  he  does  he  may  expect  that  himself  and  his 
correspondence  will  be  treated  with  the  Contempt  they  deserve.”  5 
As  a  result  of  this  difference  Captain  Brereton  resigned  the  gov¬ 
ernment  of  Cavite  which  he  had  held  since  Admiral  Cornish 
departed  on  2  March,  1763,  and  thus  threw  the  control  of  that 
detached  post  upon  the  governor  again.  It  was  a  constant 
source  of  trouble  to  him  after  this  time.6  The  spirit  of  hostility 
continued  to  exist  between  the  commander  of  the  royal  fleet  and 

1  Miscellaneous  Documents,  Nos.  138,  139,  140,  147,  200,  also  Manila  Records, 
vol.  6.  2  Manila  Records,  vol.  34,  p.  779.  2  Ibid.,  p.  780. 

4  Miscellaneous  Documents,  No.  127.  6  Ibid.,  No.  146. 

8  Manila  Records,  vol.  5,  pp.  630-637. 


TROUBLES  OF  AN  ENGLISH  GOVERNOR 


203 


Governor  Drake ;  they  checkmated  each  other  on  every  possible 
occasion.  An  appeal  from  the  governor  for  a  ship  to  cruise  off 
Corregidor,  for  a  Spanish  vessel  rumored  to  be  bringing  arms 
from  China  for  the  Spaniards  was  answered  by  a  refusal  and  the 
reply:  “I  think  it  vain  to  look  for  this  Trumpery  Vessell.”  1 
A  request  to  meet  in  council  with  him,  brought  the  response : 
“  I  have  no  kind  of  ambition  to  be  in  your  councils.”  2  Captain 
Brereton  interfered  with  the  deputy-governor’s  Chinese  policy 
and  threatened  to  write  to  Madras  about  it,  “  wherefore  the  affair 
was  hushed  up.  He  (Drake)  however  meditated  Revenge  and 
set  Mr.  Nodes  (Deputy  Paymaster  at  Cavite)  to  work  to  find 
out  if  I  was  not  a  Bird  of  the  Same  Feather  and  if  Possible  to  col¬ 
lect  matter  to  pick  a  hole  in  my  Coat,”  3  says  Captain  Brereton. 
Mr.  Nodes  did  report  to  Governor  Drake  that  the  Captain  was 
illegally  licensing  gambling  and  the  sale  of  liquor.  He  even  went 
so  far  as  to  report  his  table  conversation,  after  which  he  sum¬ 
marizes  by  saying :  “  I  cannot,  Sir,  at  present  call  to  mind  any 
further  particulars,  nor  can  I  add  anything  further  on  this  Head, 
only  to  assure  you  that  his  common  conversation  seemed  always 
to  estimate  that  you  were  fools  and  Idiots  and  know  very  little 
how  to  act  in  your  stations.”  4 

Mr.  Drake  was  with  difficulty  restrained  by  his  council  from 
taking  up  these  charges  made  in  private  conversation,5  and  he  in 
turn  asserts  that  Captain  Brereton  “not  only  went  himself  fre¬ 
quently  to  the  Parian  and  other  Places  sollieiting  the  Spanish 
etc.  to  Libel  Me  and  accuse  Me,  But  also  employed  others  in  this 
most  commendable  (sic)  office.”  6  This  hostility  lasted  as  long 
as  they  were  at  Manila,  and  there  is  some  truth  in  Governor 
Drake’s  charge  that  it  was  through  Captain  Brereton’s  machi¬ 
nations  that  the  council  forced  him  to  resign  just  before  the  evac¬ 
uation  of  Manila.7  During  his  trial  for  his  conduct  at  Manila, 
Mr.  Drake  says :  “I  am  concerned  to  find  any  man  so  inveterate 
against  another  as  Captain  Brereton  seemed  to  be  against  me.”  8 
And  that  “the  spleen  of  Captain  Brereton  has  hurried  him  beyond 
the  Bounds  of  civility  among  men  and  his  bitter  Revenge  made 

1  Manila  Records,  9,  pp.  104,  112.  6  Ibid.,  p.  649. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  9,  pp.  123,  124.  *  Ibid.,  vol.  34,  p.  326. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  34,  pp.  247.  7  Ibid.,  vol.  34,  pp.  6-14. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  5,  p.  647.  8  Ibid.,  vol.  34,  p.  319. 


204 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


him  run  about  Like  a  Devouring  Lion  seeking  by  means  and 
motives  the  most  unjustifiable  to  ruin  my  character.”  1 

After  getting  on  rather  well  with  Captain  Backhouse,  who 
became  commander  of  the  79th  Regiment  after  the  departure  of 
Major  Fell  on  3  October,  1763,  for  many  months,  Governor  Drake 
failed  to  agree  with  him  any  better  than  with  Admiral  Cornish, 
Major  Fell,  or  Captain  Brereton.  Mr.  Drake  on  10  March,  1764, 
after  arrangements  for  the  turning  of  Manila  over  to  the  Spaniards 
were  practically  arranged,  desired  Captain  Backhouse  to  send  a 
part  of  the  79th  Regiment  to  India  and  to  leave  the  rest  at  Manila 
to  guard  the  Sepoy  troops.  This  Captain  Backhouse  said  his 
orders  would  not  allow  him  to  do,2  which  brought  on  a  deadlock 
of  authority.  Nine  days  later,  Captains  Backhouse  and  Brereton 
agreed  to  ignore  the  deputy-governor  and  to  carry  on  arrangements 
to  embark  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Thus  on  19  March,  1764, 
Captain  Backhouse  withdrew  his  troops  from  the  outpost  of  Pasig 
and  turned  the  city  over  to  the  Spanish  representative,  to  which 
the  governor  objected  vigorously.  A  little  later  Mr.  Drake 
learned  that  Captains  Backhouse  and  Brereton  were  dealing 
directly  with  the  Spanish  commissioners  for  the  evacuation  of 
Manila ;  they  were  called  to  account  for  this  and  Captain  Back¬ 
house  replied  that  he  had  received  orders  from  his  “  Royal  Lord  the 
King  with  regard  to  this  Conquest.  They  shall  be  impartially 
obeyed  leaving  you  to  dispute  the  Validity  of  them  with  His 
Majesty.”  3  These  orders  were  demanded  and,  when  refused, 
Captain  Backhouse  was  ordered  under  arrest  for  “his  Refusal  to 
obey  and  his  many  other  illegal  and  extraordinary  Proceedings.”  4 
A  party  was  sent  to  take  him  but  meeting  with  resistance  returned 
without  accomplishing  their  mission.  That  night,  25  March, 
1764,  Captain  Backhouse  was  dragged  from  his  bed  and  confined 
in  the  citadel 5  by  a  party  led  by  Lieutenant  Richbell  of  the  79th 
Regiment,  who  had  been  bribed  by  Mr.  Drake  to  carry  out  his 
orders.6  Captain  Backhouse  was  kept  a  prisoner  until  the  gov¬ 
ernor  was  overthrown  by  his  council  on  28  March,  1764,  when  he 

1  Manila  Records,  vol.  34,  p.  321. 

1  Ibid.,  vol.  9,  pp.  183-200. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  248. 

*Ibid.,  p.  251. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  252;  Miscellaneous  Documents,  No.  200. 

•  Miscellaneous  Documents,  Nos.  166-214. 


TROUBLES  OF  AN  ENGLISH  GOVERNOR 


205 


resumed  his  liberty  and  proceeded  to  evacuate  Manila  without 
giving  any  heed  to  the  protests  of  the  agents  of  the  East  India 
Company.  In  his  long  report  to  the  Secretary  at  War,  the  Cap¬ 
tain  says :  “  Give  me  Leave  my  Lord  to  assure  you,  that  the 
command  of  His  Majesty’s  Troops  in  Manila  with  Mr.  Drake 
was  a  Hell  too  severe  to  be  endured  by  human  nature;  where 
anything  good  reigned  in  the  Composition,  there  a  heart  the  least 
tinctured  with  honour,  honesty,  or  the  love  of  his  Country,  must 
have  been  ever  upon  the  Rack,  by  the  arbitrary  Scenes  of  injus¬ 
tice  and  oppression  incessantly  practised  by  Mr.  Drake.”  1 

These  illustrations  show  that  Mr.  Drake  had  trouble  with  all 
the  military  and  naval  commanders,  and  other  instances  could 
be  given  to  show  that  it  was  not  only  the  superior  officers  that 
added  to  Governor  Drake’s  burdens.  It  is  also  noticeable  that 
these  men  all  got  along  well  with  each  other  and  almost  every  one 
else,  except  the  East  India  Company’s  governor. 

Mr.  Drake’s  troubles  were  not  confined  to  these  differences  with 
the  English  royal  officials.  From  the  very  first  day  he  took 
charge  at  Manila  he  had  difficulties  with  the  Spaniards.  Arch¬ 
bishop  Rojo,  acting  governor  and  captain-general,  was  almost  the 
only  Spanish  official  with  whom  he  remained  on  good  terms,  and 
that  was  because  the  Archbishop  did  everything  he  was  asked 
to  do  by  the  English  authorities.  It  was  far  different  with  Don 
Simon  de  Anda  y  Salazar,  a  member  of  the  Royal  Audiencia  who 
had  been  sent  from  Manila  a  few  days  prior  to  the  taking  of  the 
city  by  storm,  with  the  title  of  Lieutenant-Governor  and  Captain- 
General  and  Visitor  to  the  Provinces,2  by  the  governor  and 
Audiencia  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  people  loyal  to  the  King 
of  Spain.  It  was  the  natural  policy  of  the  English  not  to  recog¬ 
nize  this  title  and  the  authority  to  carry  on  an  opposition  govern¬ 
ment,  especially  since  the  Spanish  governor  insisted  that  Senor 
Anda  should  obey  the  terms  of  the  capitulation  arranged  after  the 
fall  of  Manila.  This  Anda  refused  to  do.  He  organized  an  oppo¬ 
sition  party  and  army  at  Bulacan  and  staunchly  defended  a  great 
part  of  the  Island  of  Luzon  against  the  English  forces,  and  often 

1  Miscellaneous  Documents,  No.  200. 

2  Spanish  Documents,  No.  4  ;  Blair,  E.  H.,  and  Robertson,  James,  The  Philip¬ 
pine  Islands,  55  vols.  (Cleveland,  1907).  Volume  49  covers  this  period  very 
fully ;  almost  every  volume  of  the  Manila  Records  bears  on  this  dispute. 


206 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


threatened  Manila  itself.  Mr.  Drake’s  failure  to  come  to  any 
agreement  with  Senor  Anda  made  his  position  precarious.  He 
had  not  only  to  govern  a  new  conquest,  but  to  defend  it,  and  before 
establishing  his  rule  throughout  the  island  had  to  reduce  Anda 
to  obedience.  When  this  rebellious  leader  was  so  successful  as 
to  surround  Manila  and  prevent  supplies  from  reaching  the  town, 
Governor  Drake’s  plight  was  serious.  He  attempted  to  extricate 
himself  by  sending  out  small  expeditions  and  by  appealing  to  the 
natives  to  observe  the  capitulation.  Senor  Anda  was  declared  a 
traitor  and  later  a  reward  of  $5000  was  offered  for  his  capture 
alive.1  The  Spanish  reply  was  in  kind,  only  more  severe,  for 
Anda  offered  $10,000  for  the  heads  of  Governor  Drake  and  Coun¬ 
cillors  Smith  and  Brooke,  who  had  signed  the  offer  of  reward  with 
Governor  Drake.  This  attitude  was  maintained  throughout  their 
relations ;  petty  quarrels  interfered  with  public  justice,  and 
finally  prevented  either  party  from  recognizing  the  validity  of 
the  Preliminaries  of  Peace  when  they  arrived  on  23  July,  1763 ; 
so  that  hostilities  were  not  ended  until  after  the  definitive  treaty 
of  peace  reached  Manila  on  8  March,  1764.  All  the  hardships 
and  difficulties  of  actual  war  were  thus  prolonged  for  many 
months.  Mr.  Drake’s  commissioners  failed  to  make  terms  with 
those  appointed  by  Senor  Anda.  A  deadlock  and  further  com¬ 
plications  were  prevented  only  by  the  arrival  of  Don  Francisco 
de  la  Torre  from  Mexico  on  17  March,  1764,  with  a  commission 
as  governor  and  captain-general  of  the  Philippine  Islands.2 
He  was  at  once  recognized  and  negotiations  opened  with  him ; 
but  again  disagreements  arose  which  led  Governor  de  la  Torre 
to  write  to  Captains  Brereton  and  Backhouse,  asking  them  to 
treat  with  his  commissioners  directly  and  arrange  for  a  speedy 
evacuation  of  Manila.3  At  the  same  time  he  accused  Mr.  Drake 
and  council  of  misusing  his  bounty  in  supplying  provisions  for 
the  embarkation  by  selling  them.  He  writes:  “I  am  perfectly 
well  informed  by  the  citizens  of  Manila  as  [well  as]  by  the  Commis¬ 
sioners  I  have  appointed,  that  your  Worships  are  actually 
selling  Rice  .  .  .  you  are  to  know  that  this  government  should 


1  Manila  Records,  vol.  5,  pp.  67-75;  Spanish  Documents,  Nos.  5,  11. 

*  Spanish  Documents,  Nos.  9,  10,  11 ;  Miscellaneous  Documents,  No.  200. 

3  Miscellaneous  Documents,  No.  200. 


TROUBLES  OF  AN  ENGLISH  GOVERNOR 


207 


afford  you  Provisions  only  by  way  of  Hospitality  and  not  to  sell 
them.”  1 

The  Spanish  residents  of  Manila  gave  Governor  Drake  as  much 
trouble  as  their  officials ;  they  constantly  deceived  him,  hid  the 
treasure  which  they  had  promised  to  pay  on  the  ransom,  furnished 
supplies  and  information  to  the  malcontents  in  the  provinces ; 
and  when  it  suited  their  purpose,  broke  their  paroles  and  joined 
Senor  Anda.  Mr.  Drake  failed  entirely  to  master  the  situation 
although  he  had  plenty  of  advice  from  his  council  and  the  royal 
officers. 

The  clergy  were  as  troublesome  as  the  rest,  and  although  they 
had  promised  General  Draper  to  aid  in  keeping  the  peace  and  to 
observe  the  capitulation,  they  soon  took  advantage  of  Mr.  Drake 
and  with  few  exceptions  used  their  influence  to  make  the  English 
situation  in  the  Philippines  [intolerable.  The  friars  especially 
were  the  backbone  of  the  Spanish  resistance ;  they  organized  and 
led  the  native  forces  that  all  but  forced  the  evacuation  of  Manila 
before  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace  arrived. 

With  the  natives  of  the  Philippine  Islands  Governor  Drake 
was  no  more  successful  than  he  was  with  the  Europeans.  They 
gave  him  less  worry,  but  that  was  partly  because  there  were  few 
leaders  among  them  and  because  he  never  tried  to  deal  with  them 
personally.  It  was  the  military  officers  in  the  field  and  the  sub¬ 
ordinate  officials  at  Manila  who  came  into  direct  contact  with 
the  natives. 

The  Chinese  residents  of  the  Islands  who  lived  mostly  in  the 
Parian,  the  Chinese  quarter  of  Manila,  presented  as  many  prob¬ 
lems  as  they  did  in  California  a  few  years  ago.  General  Draper 
had  solved  the  difficulty  by  placing  a  Mr.  Kennedy,  an  English¬ 
man  long  a  resident  of  Manila  and  familiar  with  the  Chinese,  in 
charge  of  their  quarter.  Mr.  Drake  continued  Mr.  Kennedy  in 
office,  but  was  not  able  to  keep  clear  of  the  difficulties  presented 
by  the  government  of  the  Chinese.  Charges  were  soon  made 
by  Mr.  Kennedy  and  others  against  the  Chinese  captain.  Mr. 
Drake  started  to  investigate  which  led  him  into  interference  that 
was  made  more  intricate  by  cross  complaints  and  charges  made 
to  Admiral  Cornish,  Major  Fell,  and  some  of  the  councillors ; 

1  Manila  Records,  vol.  9,  pp.  238-239. 


208 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


unanimity  of  policy  was  thus  made  impossible.  According  to 
their  customs  and  with  his  approval  the  Chinese  voted  a  present 
to  the  English  governor.  Mr.  Kennedy  did  not  see  fit  to  turn 
over  the  entire  amount  collected,  which  led  to  an  altercation 
that  made  it  impossible  for  Mr.  Drake  to  get  along  with  the  only 
man  who  could  govern  the  Chinese,  and  his  greed  of  gain  gave 
plenty  of  opportunity  for  criticism.  He  is  charged  with  having 
received  $2000  as  a  gift  from  the  Chinese  and  applying  for  the 
remainder  of  the  $5000  voted  by  them ;  with  receiving  $2500 
for  the  contract  for  the  rent  of  the  Arrack  Farm,  and  that  he 
received  money  for  granting  a  monopoly  for  the  sale  of  pork.1 
But  these  charges  were  not  due  to  the  Chinese  alone,  for  Mr. 
Kennedy,  when  examined,  says :  “  I  then  remember  that  the 
above  Gentlemen  (Messrs.  Smith  and  Brooke)  and  Captain  Ste¬ 
phenson  (sic)  animated  me  much  not  to  spare  you  [Mr.  Drake]. 
They  must  have  suspected  that  I  knew  of  some  mal  Practices 
of  yours,  but  I  told  them  as  I  now  Declare  I  never  knew  of  any.”  2 
The  committee  which  investigated  Mr.  Drake’s  conduct  says 
also  that  the  “veracity  of  the  Chinese  is  little  to  be  regarded.”  3 
Mr.  Jourdan,  one  of  the  members  of  the  Council,  charged  Mr. 
Drake  with  seeking  the  emoluments  secured  heretofore  by  the 
Spanish  governor  from  the  Chinese,  which  brought  on  such  a 
dispute  that  the  council  informed  the  governor  “that  if  he  per¬ 
sisted  in  adopting  such  measures  as  they  could  not  approve  of 
he  must  be  governor  alone,  which  he  informed  them  he  would,”  4 
and  Mr.  Kennedy  adds  later  in  summing  up  his  treatment  by  Mr. 
Drake,  “  it’s  incredible  the  Things  I’ve  heard  of  the  Triumverate 
(sic)  that  I  may  say  governed  much  in  Manila  without  Regard 
to  Honour  or  Honesty,  to  the  Discredit  of  the  Nation  and  the 
Hon.  Company.”  5 

All  these  difficulties  might  have  been  met  by  a  unity  of  action 
among  the  agents  of  the  East  India  Company ;  but  this  was  not 
the  case.  It  would  be  hard  to  find  a  more  divided  government  than 
that  of  the  Plonorable  East  India  Company  at  Manila.  It  was 


1  Manila  Records,  vol.  34,  pp.  613-627.  3  Ibid.,  p.  627. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  278.  4  Ibid.,  pp.  234,  784. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  599,  Mr.  Kennedy  to  Francis  Jourdan,  29  November  1765  ;  the  Trium¬ 

virate  he  mentions  was  supposed  to  consist  of  M.  Faillet,  Senor  Orendain,  and 

Governor  Drake.  See  Manila  Records,  vol.  34,  p.  600. 


TROUBLES  OF  AN  ENGLISH  GOVERNOR 


209 


impossible  for  the  governor  and  council  to  agree ;  they  differed 
on  almost  every  issue  and  to  prevent  further  difficulties  the  coun¬ 
cillors  had  the  good  sense  to  resign.  All  four  members  of  the 
council  who  were  appointed  to  serve  with  Governor  Drake  resigned 
in  a  short  time.  Samuel  Johnson  resigned  on  16  December,  1762, 
and  Mr.  Claud  Russell  on  18  December,  1762 ;  both  on  the  pre¬ 
tended  ground  of  indisposition.  Mr.  Russell  complains  of  “  Swell¬ 
ings  in  his  Feet”  and  declares  that  “the  greater  Part  of  his  Liver 
was  consumed.”  1  On  20  February,  1763,  Mr.  Smith  requested 
leave  to  resign  on  account  of  ill  health  and  pressure  of  his  private 
business,  and  on  28  February,  1763,  Mr.  Brooke  “  requested  to 
leave  because  of  the  ruinous  state  of  affairs  upon  the  Coast  [which] 
required  his  Presence  there.”  2  Of  the  three  men  appointed  to 
fill  these  vacancies,  Captain  Stevenson,  Messrs.  Parsons,  and 
Francis  Jourdan,3  the  latter  asked  to  resign  on  2  May,  1763,  on 
“account  of  an  Inflamation  of  his  Liver,”  4 *  which  request  was 
refused.  Captain  Backhouse  sums  up  the  situation  from  the 
side  of  the  councillors  in  these  words :  “  The  four  Councillors  who 
were  appointed  by  the  Precedency  (sic)  of  Fort  St.  George  left 
Manila  very  soon,  being  quickly  tired  of  their  President,  Mr. 
Drake.”  6  Mr.  Jourdan  often  defied  Governor  Drake  openly  in 
council  and  would  say  “put  it  to  a  Vote,  we’ll  Let  you  know  we 
have  a  vote  as  well  as  you,”  6  and  upon  one  occasion  Captain  Ste¬ 
venson  and  Mr.  Jourdan  “came  running  to  the  Palace  .  .  .  and 
hinted  the  suspending  me  [Drake]  a  Powrer  they  insisted  upon  it 
was  vested  in  them.”  7 

Governor  Drake  speaks  of  his  council  as  “These  refined 
youths,”  8  “young  and  inexperienced  Servants,”  9  “Spoiled  Boys” 
and  “A  Parcell  of  Boys  who  though  they  acquitted  themselves 
well  in  their  former  stations  yet  by  the  sudden  Change  to  the 
Present,  forgetting  the  past,  proud  of  their  Consequences,  and 
puffed  up  with  vanity  they  usurped  an  authority  over  me.”  10 
Regarding  the  excuses  for  their  resignations  he  says:  “Whilst  I 
sat  Innocent  at  Home  meditating  the  affairs  of  My  Hon’ble  Mas- 


1  Manila  Records,  vol.  34,  pp.  16-18. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  205,  vol.  6,  p.  661. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  4,  pp.  18,  19,  vol.  34,  p.  334. 

4  Ibid.,  vol.  34,  p.  266. 

6  Miscellaneous  Documents,  No.  200. 


3  Manila  Records,  vol.  34. 
7  Ibid.,  p.  336. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  775. 

•  Ibid.,  p.  268. 

10  Ibid.,  pp.  267,  268. 


210 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


ter’s  The  Counsellors  not  withstanding  their  terrible  state  of 
Health  were  able  to  move  about  Town  and  influence  declamatory 
persons  to  asperse  my  character.”  1 

The  disputes  between  the  governor  and  his  councillors  reached 
the  acute  stage  several  times,  but  upon  each  occasion  they  yielded 
and  allowed  matters  to  drift  along.  At  the  last  their  patience  gave 
out  and  on  28  March,  1764,  they  called  the  governor  before  them, 
and  read  a  long  list  of  charges  that  had  been  made  against  him. 
They  informed  him  that  since  Captain  Brereton  and  the  Spanish 
governor  had  refused  to  treat  with  him  for  the  evacuation  of  the 
Islands  and  that  since  the  season  was  late,  he  should  now  resign 
in  the  interests  of  the  Company  and  retire  to  one  of  the  Company’s 
ships.2  This  they  forced  him  to  do ;  after  which  Captains  Back¬ 
house  and  Brereton  took  the  upper  hand  and  proceeded  to  evac¬ 
uate  Manila  and  Cavite,  so  that  in  effect  both  the  governor  and 
his  council  were  deposed.3  Mr.  Drake  says  of  his  forced  resigna¬ 
tion  :  “The  whole  Proceeding  was  entirely  a  plot  of  Captain  Brere¬ 
ton  which  was  executed  by  my  counsellors  to  their  eternal  shame, 
having  served  as  Instruments  or  Tools  to  bring  about  his  mali¬ 
cious  Purposes.”  4  We  agree  with  Mr.  Drake  that  the  scene  pre¬ 
sented  leaves  the  impression  upon  our  minds  of  a  “Garrison  full 
of  Faction  and  Plots,  a  People  seized  with  Phrenzy  and  madness 
of  a  Party  zeal,”  5  and  also  with  Mr.  Jourdan  that  although  “Mr. 
Drake  lays  the  whole  Fault  on  the  Company’s  Servants,  .  .  . 
It  is  scarcely  to  be  imagined  Mr.  Drake  had  none  other  than  un¬ 
reasonable  People  to  deal  with,  or  that  all  should  have  been  his 
Enemies.”  6  Perhaps  Dawsonne  Drake  was  also  right  when  he 
said  there  never  was  so  “Shocking  [a]  Place  as  Manila,  the 
Capital,  I  believe  of  the  world  for  Scandal  and  Corruption.”  7 
Dawsonne  Drake’s  troubles  were  not  over  when  he  was  forced 
to  retire  from  the  government  of  Manila ;  he  involved  himself 
in  many  ways  on  the  journey  to  Madras,  and  upon  his  arrival  at 
home  he  found  that  he  was  denied  his  seat  in  the  council  until 


1  Manila  Records,  vol.  34,  p.  280. 

2  Ibid,.,  vol.  26,  pp.  5-14 ;  vol.  9,  pp.  199-290. 

3  Ibid.,  vol.  26,  pp.  5-18;  also  Miscellaneous  Documents,  No.  200. 

4  Manila  Records,  vol.  34,  p.  340. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  410. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  562.  Mr.  Jourdan,  18  August,  1766,  to  Madras  President  and  Council. 

7  Ibid.,  p.  497. 


TROUBLES  OF  AN  ENGLISH  GOVERNOR 


211 


his  conduct  at  Manila  could  be  investigated  and  reported  upon. 
This  was  due  to  the  charges  which  had  been  sent  to  the  King  and 
the  Honorable  Company.  The  latter  ordered  the  president  and 
council  at  Madras  to  investigate  the  charges  and  report.1  The 
proceedings  of  this  committee  of  investigation  show  that  they 
were  very  thorough  and  seemed  to  be  entirely  disinterested  and 
fair.2  They  found  him  guilty  on  many  charges  and  innocent  or 
not  proven  guilty  on  many  others.  They  report  that  “Mr. 
Drake  disobeyed  the  orders  sent  from  Madras  regarding  Monsieur 
Faillet,”  3  that  the  “Consultations  were  not  properly  kept  and  the 
cash  accounts  mixed  and  that  Mr.  Drake  should  be  held  respon¬ 
sible  for  $4000  overcharge  to  the  Paymaster  at  Cavite”;  and 
that  “he  was  guilty  of  carelessness,”  4  that  “un  justify  able  meas¬ 
ures  were  taken  by  officers  over  the  Chinese  for  the  collection  of 
the  Present  of  which  Mr.  Drake  himself  acknowledges  to  have 
received  part,”  5  that  the  committee  was  not  sure  of  the  charge 
regarding  the  Arrack  Farm  although  it  is  proven  that  $10,250 
was  paid  of  which  only  $4900  was  credited  to  the  Company  and 
that  “  Mr.  Drake  be  held  responsible  for  the  balance ;”  6  that 
“Governor  Drake  was  guilty  of  creating  a  pork  monopoly  and 
receiving  money  for  doing  so.”  7  They  found  him  not  guilty  on 
most  of  the  charges  made  by  the  Spaniards  or  were  not  convinced 
of  his  guilt.8  Regarding  the  differences  with  his  council  they 
report  that  “The  Council  did  not  support  and  assist  Mr.  Drake  in 
that  critical  juncture  as  they  ought  to  have  done” ;  and  that  “It 
is  our  opinion  that  the  situation  affairs  seem  to  have  been  in, 
ought  not  to  have  induced  Mr.  Drake  to  have  quitted  his  Govern¬ 
ment.”  9  They  also  add  in  his  defense  the  opinion  that  “We 
believe  that  diligent  search  was  made  for  persons  to  exhibit  com¬ 
plaints  against  Mr.  Drake’s  conduct.”  10 

The  final  decision  was,  “  that  he  [Mr.  Drake]  is  certainly  guilty 
of  some  charges,  especially  that  relating  to  the  Chinese,  that  he 
be  dismissed  and  sent  to  Europe.”  11  This  judgment  was  sent  to 

1  Manila  Records,  vol.  34,  p.  1,  Mr.  Dodwell’s  letter  of  May  4,  1915. 

2  The  proceedings  of  the  committee  during  this  investigation  and  their  findings 
make  up  vol.  34  of  Manila  Records,  pp.  1-813. 

3  Manila  Records,  vol.  34,  p.  605.  7  Ibid.,  p.  627. 

4  Ibid.,  pp.  606-609.  8  Ibid.,  pp.  626-646. 

6  Ibid.,  pp.  613-620.  9  Ibid.,  p.  659. 

8  Ibid.,  p.  262.  i°  Ibid.,  p.  647. 

11  Mr.  Dodwell’s  letter  of  4  May,  1915. 


212 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


the  Court  of  Directors  of  the  East  India  Company  at  London 
which  acted  as  follows :  “  Having  with  great  attention  read  and 
considered  your  Proceedings  upon  the  Enquiry  we  directed  you 
to  make  into  the  Conduct  of  Mr.  Dawsonne  Drake  the  Deputy 
Governor  and  the  Company’s  other  servants  at  Manila,  We  find 
that  in  the  Course  of  their  administration  there  was  a  great  want 
of  harmony  among  them,  discord  with  His  Majesty’s  Officers, 
many  irregularities  in  the  management  of  the  farms  and  much 
neglect  in  keeping  the  accounts,  in  all  which  Mr.  Drake  had  too 
great  a  share  to  be  passed  over  without  some  marks  of  our  dis¬ 
approbation  ;  You  are  therefore  to  let  him  know  it  is  our  opinion 
he  deserves  a  severe  censure  for  his  improper  conduct;  however 
in  consideration  of  his  long  services,  We  do  agree  and  accordingly 
direct  that  his  suspension  b§  taken  off,  and  he  be  again  admitted 
to  the  Council,  but  he  is  to  be  fixed  as  the  Fourth  Member  therein, 
and  never  rise  to  an  higher  rank :  and  it  is  our  further  directions 
that  he  shall  constantly  reside  at  Madras.”  1 

After  having  been  reinstated  according  to  the  order  secured 
by  his  friends  on  the  Court  of  Directors,  Mr.  Drake  appears  in 
Prinsep  as  a  member  of  the  Council  of  the  Governor  from  1768 
to  1771,  when  the  record  abruptly  closes  with  the  four  short 
words  :  “out  of  the  service  1771.”  2  He  seems  to  have  obeyed  the 
order  of  the  directors  to  remain  at  Madras  for  he  died,  according 
to  Mr.  Dodwell,3  in  that  city.  Perhaps  he  was  wise  to  spend  his 
latter  years  in  the  city  of  his  birth,  for  if  he  had  returned  to  Eng¬ 
land  he  would  undoubtedly  have  had  to  meet  the  charges  of  the 
various  officers  with  whom  he  had  so  bitterly  quarreled  at  Manila. 

The  first  English  governor  of  the  Philippine  Islands  died,  ac¬ 
cording  to  Mr.  Dodwell,  in  1781  at  Madras,  “leaving  an  estate 
sworn  at  about  100,000  Pagodas.  His  inventory  includes,  I 
remember,  some  old  Spanish  pictures  —  were  these  part  of  his 


1  Extract  from  the  Public  Despatch  from  the  Court  of  Directors,  dated  London, 
12-1-1768,  To  our  President  and  Council,  Fort  St.  George,  Manila  Records  with 
vol.  34.  Mr.  Dodwell  in  his  letter  of  4  May,  1915,  says:  “I  don’t  think  the 
Company’s  acquittal  amounts  to  anything  either  way.  Few  bodies  have  dis¬ 
played  so  little  of  the  judicial  spirit  as  the  Honorable  East  India  Company  between 
1760  and,  say  1790.  You  may  perhaps  wish  to  say  the  same  about  the  Madras 
Council.  But  I  think  their  condemnation  less  unlikely  to  have  been  mere  per¬ 
sonal  feeling  than  the  Company’s  acquittal.” 

1  Prinsep,  Record  of  Services,  p.  46. 

3  Mr.  Dodwell’s  letter  of  4  May,  1915. 


I 


TROUBLES  OF  AN  ENGLISH  GOVERNOR  213 

loot  at  Manila  ?  ”  1  And  so  passes  the  shadow  of  Dawsonne  Drake, 
for  a  brief  moment  a  figure  of  importance  in  a  Spanish  city  on  an 
Asiatic  island,  never  again  to  come  under  English  control,  but  to 
find  itself  instead  the  capital  of  the  first  Asiatic  possession  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  May  it  be  hoped  that  American 
governors  of  the  Philippine  Islands  may  pass  their  terms  of  ser¬ 
vice  free  from  the  troubles  that  surrounded  the  brief  tenure  of 
office  of  Dawsonne  Drake,  a  Madras  civil  servant  in  the  service 
of  the  Honorable  East  India  Company  of  the  Merchants  of  Lon¬ 
don  trading  to  the  East  Indies ! 


1  Letter  from  Mr.  Dodwell,  4  May,  1915.  Manila  Records,  vol.  34,  p.  243, 
speaks  of  pictures  taken  by  Mr.  Drake  from  the  Governor’s  Palace  and  describes 
them  as  ‘‘3  Painted  Pictures  with  glasses,  2  Square  Pictures,  little  Less  than  half 
a  yard  each,  in  which  were  represented  2  ships  in  action,  exquisite  Pieces.  Mr. 
Drake  referres  to  them  in  his  defense  as  ‘a  few  painted  Pictures  of  no  value’” 
(Manila  Records,  vol.  34,  p.  403). 


THE  CHINESE  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


William  L.  Schurz 


After  the  failure  of  the  plans  for  a  Spanish  spice  monopoly  in 
the  East  Indies,  the  introduction  of  trade  with  China  determined 
the  economic  history  of  the  Philippines  for  two  and  a  half  centuries. 
Each  year  the  Chinese  brought  great  quantities  of  silks  and  other 
rich  commodities  from  Amoy  and  other  ports  to  Manila,  whence 
they  were  forwarded  to  Mexico  by  the  famous  Manila  Galleon, 
or  “  China  Ship.”  But  the  Chinese  trade  brought  with  it  probably 
the  most  serious  problem  for  the  internal  administration  of  the 
colony.1  It  is  the  first  instance,  on  any  considerable  scale,  of  a 
Caucasian-Mongolian  race  question,  with  all  the  phases  of  social, 
economic,  and  political  antagonisms  that  such  a  contact  of  peoples 
so  different  has  only  too  often  carried  with  it.  It  is  a  long  tale 
of  suspicious  and  morbid  fears,  of  risings  and  sanguinary  retali¬ 
ations  and  expulsions,  with  years  of  quiescence  between  the 
periods  of  violence  and  panic.  The  Spaniards  early  realized  the 
peril  that  accompanied  the  presence  of  so  many  Chinese  in  the 
city  and  took  measures  to  prevent  any  disastrous  consequences 
therefrom.  For  this  reason  Governor  Gonzalo  Ronquillo  built 
the  Parian,  or  quarter  where  the  Chinese  who  remained  in  the 
city  were  required  to  remain.2  However,  before  1628  the  Chinese 

1  On  the  Chinese  in  the  Philippines  see  Berthold  Laufer,  The  Relations  of  the 
Chinese  to  the  Philippine  Islands  (Washington,  1907).  This  monograph  is  partic¬ 
ularly  valuable  because  of  the  use  of  Chinese  materials.  Blumentritt,  Die  Chinesen 
auf  den  Philippinen  (Berlin,  1887).  Blumentritt’s  work  is  largely  based  on  Caspar 
de  San  Agustln  and  on  the  compilation  from  Mallat  of  Buzeta  y  Bravo.  Jordana  y 
Morera,  La  inmigracion  China  en  Filipmas  (Madrid,  1888).  David  P.  Barrows,  in 
Census  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  1903,  I,  479-491. 

2  “In  this  city  were  also  some  shops  kept  by  Sangleys,  who  lived  here  in  order 
to  sell  the  goods  which  they  kept  here  from  year  to  year.  These  Sangleys  were 
scattered  among  the  Spaniards  with  no  specific  places  assigned  to  them  until 
Don  Gonzalo  Ronquillo  allotted  -  them  a  place  to  live  in  and  to  be  used  as  a  silk 
market  (which  is  called  here  Parian),  of  four  large  buildings.  Here  many  shops 
were  opened,  commerce  increased  and  more  Sangleys  came  to  this  city.”  Bishop 
Salazar  to  the  King,  June  24,  1590,  Blair  and  Robertson,  The  Philippine  Islands, 
vol  7,  p.  220. 


214 


THE  CHINESE  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


215 


had  begun  to  live  outside  the  Parian  “to  the  great  danger  of 
the  Spanish  population.”  1  At  this  time  Christian  Chinese,  or 
those  married  to  Christians,  were  permitted  to  live  in  the  quarter 
of  Mindonoc,  which,  considering  the  usual  motives  for  conversion, 
was  a  dangerous  concession.2  Chinese  settled  in  the  provinces 
surrounding  Manila  and  were  even  more  widely  scattered  about 
the  islands.3  Though  the  law  required  that  the  Chinese  who  came 
to  Manila  on  the  champans  should  return  with  them  as  soon  as 
the  favorable  monsoon  arose,  after  the  discharge  of  the  cargoes 
and  their  delivery  to  the  pancada  committee,  this  was  early  re¬ 
laxed.  Licenses  were  then  required  for  permission  to  stay  in 
Manila,4  while  the  number  of  those  who  might  stay  was  limited 
in  1620  to  six  thousand.5  The  number  of  those  who  might  come  in 
a  single  champan  was  also  limited.  The  failure  to  enforce  these 
restrictions  brought  about  the  condition  which  led  to  the  extreme 
and  violent  expedient  of  expulsion.  By  1588  there  were  ten  thou¬ 
sand  Chinese  in  Manila,6  and  when  Morga  sent  twelve  thousand 
back  to  China  in  1596,  he  declared  that  as  many  more  remained 
in  the  city.7  Forty  years  later  Grau  y  Monfalcon  informed  the 
King  that  there  were  about  thirty  thousand  Chinese  and  Japanese 
in  the  city.8  When  such  numbers  are  compared  with  the  few 
hundred  Spaniards  in  Manila  the  potential  gravity  of  the  situation 
for  the  latter  is  evident. 

Although  the  Spanish  policy  throughout  was  uncertain  and  in¬ 
consistent,  they  early  came  to  accept  as  almost  a  necessary  and 


1  King  to  Audiencia,  August  17,  1628,  A.  de  I.,  105-2-12. 

2  Anda  declared  that  “even  the  padres”  confess  that  the  Chinese  accept  con¬ 
version  only  to  be  allowed  to  marry  in  Manila  and  to  carry  on  business  there. 
Anda  to  Arriaga,  July  7,  1768,  A.  de  I.,  108-3-17.  Converted  Chinese  were  also 
exempted  from  the  payment  of  tribute  for  ten  years  after  conversion,  and  after 
that  time  paid  at  the  low  rate  at  which  the  natives  were  assessed.  Recopilacidn, 
lib.  6,  tit.  i8,  ley  7.  This  was  issued  by  Philip  IV,  June  14,  1627. 

3  Pedro  Calderon  Enriquez  to  the  Governor,  June  16,  1741,  A.  de  I.,  68-5-16. 
Enriquez  gives  four  thousand  as  the  number  of  heathen  Chinese  in  the  Parian; 
there  were  also  some  in  the  huertas  of  Tondo  and  at  Cavite. 

4  Recopilacidn ,  lib.  6,  tit.  18,  ley  2. 

6  Ibid.,  ley  I.  “Que  el  numero  de  los  Chinos  sea  muy  moderado,  y  no  exceda 
de  seis  mil,  pues  estos  bastan  para  servicio  de  la  tierra,  y  pueden  resultar  de  au- 
mentarse  los  inconvenientes  que  se  han  experimentado  .  .  .  que  los  Chinos  y 
Japones  no  sean  tantos,  y  los  que  huviere  vivan  con  quietud,  temor  y  sujecion.” 

6  Audiencia  to  the  King,  B.  and  R.,  vol.  6,  p.  316. 

!  Morga  to  the  King,  July  6,  1596,  B.  and  R.,  vol.  9,  266. 

8  King  to  Governor,  February  29,  1636,  A.  de  I.,  105-2-12.  In  1621  there  were 
over  16,000  licensed  Chinese  in  Manila  and  5000  unlicensed.  Governor  Fajardo 
de  Tenza  to  the  King,  September  21,  1621. 


216 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


permanent  part  of  the  colony’s  life  the  presence  of  a  limited 
number  of  Chinese.1  Their  skill  and  sober  industry  were  needed 
in  the  trades  and  in  the  shop-keeping  business  of  the  city,  which 
they  virtually  monopolized.  Although  they  were  to  be  duly 
restricted  within  the  bounds  of  the  Parian,  considerable  freedom 
of  movement  about  the  city  seems  to  have  been  permitted  during 
the  day,  but  at  night  they  were  expected  to  retire  to  the  Parian .2 
A  cedula  of  the  late  date  of  1780  granted  royal  sanction  to  this 
custom.3 

Benevolent  provisions  were  made  to  protect  the  rights  of  the 
Chinese,  just  as  the  famous  New  Laws  were  issued  earlier  to  se¬ 
cure  good  treatment  of  the  American  Indians.4  An  alcalde  mayor 
was  appointed  especially  to  administer  the  government  of  the 
Parian,  while  a  Chinese  official  was  permitted  considerable  juris¬ 
diction  in  cases  between  Orientals.5 

The  Dominican  friars  exerted  their  great  influence  in  favor  of  just 
treatment,  and  the  governor  was  constituted  the  especial  protector 
of  the  Chinese,  with  supreme  authority  in  matters  of  government 
and  administration.6 

However,  with  the  usual  admirable  legal  provisions  for  safe¬ 
guarding  the  rights  of  an  “inferior”  race,  there  was  the  same 
customary  evasion  by  those  interested  in  their  violation.  Spanish 
officials  were  often  arbitrary  in  thejr  treatment  of  the  Chinese. 
The  inspectors  of  the  champans  harassed  the  merchants  with 
exactions,7  and  even  went  to  the  extent  of  removing  the  masts 

1  Morga,  “Sucesos,”  B.  and  R.,  vol.  16,  p.  196. 

2  Recopilacidn,  lib.  6,  tit.  18,  ley  13. 

2  April  28,  1780,  A.  de  I.,  105-2-9. 

*  These  comprise  the  larger  part  of  the  thirteen  laws  of  the  Recopilacidn,  lib.  6, 
tit.  18,  entitled:  “De  los  Sangleyes,”  “  Es  justo,  que  viniendo  esta  gente  &  con- 
tratar,  sea  acariciada,  y  reciba  buen  acogimiento,  para  que  llevando  &  sus  tierras 
buenas  nuevas  de  el  trato,  y  acogida  de  nuestros  vasallos,  se  aficionen  otros  &  venir, 
y  por  medio  de  esta  comunicacion  reciban  la  Doctrina  Christiana,  y  profesen 
nuestra  Santa  Fe  Catolica,  &  que  se  dirige  nuestro  principal  deseo,  e  intencion. 
Mandamos  &  los  Gobernadores,  que  vista  la  substancia  de  estos  agravios,  d6n  las 
<5rdenes  necesarias,  para  que  se  remedien  tales  inconvenientes  y  no  consientan,  que 
sobre  lo  contenido  en  ellos,  ni  otros  de  ninguna  calidad  reciban  los  Chinos  Sang¬ 
leyes,  ni  qualesquier  contratantes,  agravio,  molestia,  ni  vexacion,  teniendo  gran 
cuenta  y  cuidado  con  su  buen  tratamiento,  y  despacho,  y  de  castigar  a  quien  los 
ofendiere,  6  agraviare.”  Ley  10. 

6  Recopilacidn,  lib.  5,  tit.  3,  ley  24. 

5  Recopilacidn,  lib.  2,  tit.  15,  ley  55. 

7  Instructions  for  Governor  Tello,  B.  and  R.,  vol.  9,  p.  252.  Recopilacidn,  lib.  9, 
tit.  45,  ley  3,  entitled:  “Que  el  Gobernador,  y  Audiencia  de  Filipinas  provean 
quien  visite  las  Naos  de  los  Chinos,  que  alii  llegaren.”  Bishop  Salazar  wrote  in 
1583  that  the  prices  of  Chinese  goods  had  quadrupled  because  of  the  scarcity  due 


THE  CHINESE  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


217 


from  the  Chinese  vessels  and  substituting  inferior  ones,  with  which 
it  was  impossible  to  make  the  return  voyage.1  The  Chinese  re¬ 
sorted  to  just  what  was  expected  of  them,  —  wholesale  bribery, — 
and  the  atmosphere  of  deceit  and  suspicion  generated  was  un¬ 
favorable  to  the  peaceful  prosecution  of  trading  relations.  In 
the  hands  of  the  alcaldes  mayores,  the  requirement  that  Chinese 
hold  licenses  of  residence  was  a  pretext  for  the  frequent  exaction 
of  money  for  the  renewal  of  these  licenses.2  The  Spaniards 
believed  that  the  merchant  class,  with  their  interest  in  order, 
could  be  depended  on  to  show  a  passive  endurance  of  these  vex¬ 
ations,  but  the  great  mass  of  those  who  flocked  to  the  islands  in 
the  train  of  the  traders  were  a  more  uncertain  and  inflammable 
element  in  the  situation.3 

On  one  side,  the  confidence  of  numbers  and  discontent  at  very 
real  grievances,  and  on  the  other,  superior  race  pride  and  a  panicky 
fear  made  collision  almost  inevitable.  Chinese  conspiracies  and 
sudden  risings,  accompanied  by  loot  and  massacre,  quickly  fol¬ 
lowed  by  sanguinary  repression  by  the  small  but  effective  Spanish 
force,  and  later  by  expulsion  en  masse  of  the  Sangley  remnant  make 
up  much  of  the  history  of  the  two  races  in  the  islands.4  The 
Spanish  terror  of  the  descent  on  Manila  of  an  overwhelming  force 
from  the  Chinese  mainland  was  in  a  measure  justified  by  such 
events  as  the  early  sacking  of  Manila  by  Limahon,6  the  mysterious 
visit  of  the  three  Mandarins  and  the  hoax  of  the  hill  of  gold  in 
1594, 6  the  killing  of  Governor  Gomez  Perez  Dasmarinas  by  the 


to  the  dislike  of  the  Chinese  to  come  to  Manila,  where  they  were  subject  to 
“annoying  restrictions.”  B.  and  R.,  vol.  5,  p.  39. 

1  Recopilacidn,  lib.  6,  tit.  18,  ley  10.  "Hemos  sido  informado  que  los  Indios 
Sangleyes,  que  vienen  &.  Filipinas&contratar  desde  la  China,  reciben  agravios  y  malos 
tratamientos  de  los  Espanoles.” 

2  In  1628  a  heathen  Chinaman  was  legally  required  to  pay  sixty-four  reals,  or 
eight  pesos  for  permission  to  remain  in  the  islands,  besides  five  reals  as  tribute, 
and  twelve  reals  as  house  tax.  King  to  Audiencia,  June  8,  1628,  A.  de  I.,  105- 
2-12.  "Se  han  aumentado  los  Chinos,  por  codicia  de  los  ocho  pesos  que  cada  uno 
paga  por  la  licencia.”  Recopilacidn,  lib.  6,  tit.  18,  ley  1. 

5  Twenty-four  Chinese  merchants  in  a  protest  against  an  expulsion  decree,  said 
that  the  Chinese  risings  had  been  limited  to  the  lower  classes.  “Los  que  se  han 
sublevado  han  sido  Sangleyes  bagamundos  y  holgazanes,  que  los  de  trato  y  oficios 
nunca  han  cooperado  en  ello.”  They  declared  that  the  first  risings  had  originated 
among  Chinese  who  had  left  China  in  a  time  of  confusion  of  Tartar  and  intestine 
wars  and  had  sought  to  found  an  independent  state  in  other  parts,  —  a  frequent 
motive  of  Viking  attacks.  C.  1687,  A.  de  I.,  108-3-17. 

*  Anda  says  there  were  fourteen  risings  in  the  history  of  the  islands.  Anda  to 
Arriaga,  July  7,  1768,  A.  de  I.,  67-3-34. 

1  Andr6s  de  Mirandaola  to  the  King,  May  30,  1576,  A.  de  I.,  67-3-34. 

•  These  three  Chinese,  who  came  to  Manila  —  so  they  said  —  to  investigate 


218 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


rowers  of  his  galley,  and  the  threatening  movements  of  the  great 
pirate  armament  of  Coxinga  in  1662.1  The  withdrawal  of  most  of 
the  forces  for  operations  against  the  Dutch  often  left  the  Span¬ 
ish  population  in  the  city  at  the  mercy  of  the  Chinese.  It  was 
under  such  circumstances  that  the  terrible  rising  of  1603  occurred.2 

During  these  times  of  stress  and  interruption  of  the  peaceful 
intercourse  of  the  two  peoples,  the  galleon  trade  would  decline  to 
very  low  proportions  or  even  to  temporary  cessation.  It  was 
thus  in  one  sense  the  barometer  of  conditions  in  the  Philippines. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  depression  of  the  commerce,  due  to 
losses  of  galleons  or  a  momentarily  diminished  demand  in  the 
American  market,  caused  serious  discontent  among  the  Chinese 
in  Manila.3 

Unable  to  adjust  peacefully  the  relations  of  the  two  races,  the 
Spaniards  resorted  to  the  radical  measures  of  expulsion  and 
exclusion,4  but  the  frequent  repetition  of  this  expedient  shows 
what  a  temporary  resource  it  was.  The  fears  of  the  Spaniards 
quieted  for  the  moment,  the  Chinese  would  begin  to  return,  often 
welcomed  by  the  Spaniards  themselves.  For  the  latter  recognized 
the  economic  dependence  of  the  colony  on  harmonious  intercourse 
with  the  Chinese.5  After  the  bloody  rising  and  reprisals  of  1603, 

a  mountain  of  gold,  were  reported  to  be  forerunners  of  a  great  attack  from  China. 
Hieronimo  de  Salazar  y  Salcedo  to  the  King,  July  5,  1603,  B.  and  R.,  vol.  12,  p.  83. 

1  On  this  occasion  the  Spaniards  abandoned  their  last  port  in  the  Moluccas  to 
augment  the  forces  for  the  defence  of  Manila. 

2  Governor  Acuna  to  the  King,  December  18,  1603,  B.  and  R.,  vol. 12,  p.  153.  In 
1621  the  fleet  could  not  quit  Manila  Bay  to  fight  the  Dutch,  for  fear  of  leaving 
the  city  unprotected  against  internal  risings.  Real  Cddula,  December  31,  1622, 
A.  de  I.,  68-3-19. 

3  “La  falta  del  comercio  y  espanoles  ocasiond  a  los  S&ngleyes  su  levantamiento.” 
City  to  the  King,  1643,  A.  de  I.,  67-6-28. 

4  Expediente  sobre  la  espulsion  de  los  Sangleyes;  1684-1744,  A.  de  I.,  68-5-16; 
Espediente  y  autos  sobre  la  conversion  y  reducion  de  los  Indios  infieles  y  sublevacion 
de  los  Sangleyes;  1747-1751,  A.  de  I.,  107-2-26.  There  is  a  great  mass  of  material 
in  a  934  page  document  in  the  former  legajo  (68-5-16),  entitled  :  Traslado  autentico 
de  la  Ri  Zedula  de  SO  de  Mayo  de  1734,  en  que  su  Mag previene  y  manda  se  forme 
una  junta,  en  la  que  se  trate  y  proponga  las  providencias  que  se  devieren  dar  en  6rden 
d  la  expulsion  de  Sangleyes,  con  las  diligenas  executad sobre  su  cumplimiento  y  auto 
mandado  acomular  d  dha.  Real  Zedula. 

6The  Audiencia  informed  the  King,  June  18,  1695,  that  it  was  impossible  to 
expel  the  Chinese  totally,  in  accordance  with  the  cddula  of  November  14,  1686. 
“  Absolutamente  son  los  Sangleyes  quienes  mantienen  las  yslas  por  ser  ellos  en 
quienes  recaen  todas  las  cargas  consexiles  de  abastos,  mercancia  y  oficios  por  ser 
tan  inutiles  los  naturales  de  las  yslas  que  solo  se  inclinan  k  la  ociosidad.”  The 
Chinese,  they  say,  seem  to  have  been  born  with  an  “especial  influxo  de  habilidad 
para  todo.”  A.  de  I.,  68-5-16.  The  Frenchman,  Mallat,  declaring  that  the  ex¬ 
clusion  ordinances  had  never  been  enforced,  said:  “II  ya  bien  des  gens  qui  les 
(the  Chinese)  croient  necessaire  k  Manille,  et  qui  sont  d’avis  que  Ton  ne  pourrait  pas 
passer  d’eux.”  Mallat,  Les  Philippines,  vol.  2,  p.  144.  The  Chinese  well  knew  how 


THE  CHINESE  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


219 


Governor  Acuna  feared  that  the  Chinese  would  not  come  again 
to  Manila,  “which,”  he  declared,  “would  be  of  irreparable  damage 
to  this  commonwealth.”  1  Enlightened  officials,  like  Hernando 
de  los  Rios  Coronel  and  Antonio  de  Morga,  the  latter  of  whom 
expelled  twelve  thousand  in  1596,  acknowledged  that  the  city 
could  not  be  maintained  or  preserved  without  the  Sangleys.2 
After  the  expulsion  of  1755,  the  Frenchman,  Le  Gentil  said:  “I 
did  not  know  any  Spaniards  in  Manila  who  did  not  sincerely  re¬ 
gret  the  departure  of  the  Chinese  and  who  did  not  frankly  admit 
that  the  Philippines  would  suffer  for  it.”  3 

Religious  influences,  too,  played  their  part  in  the  expulsions, 
especially  as  they  were  dictated  from  the  peninsula,  but  deporta¬ 
tion  for  such  motives  was  not  favored  by  the  lay  population  in 
the  islands.4  There  was  a  conflict  of  interests  here,  for  the  main- 


essential  they  were  to  the  material  welfare  of  the  islands.  Memorial  of  twenty- 
four  Chinese  of  Manila  to  the  Governor  (1687),  A.  de  I.,  68-1-25. 

1  Governor  Acuna  to  the  King,  December  18,  1603,  A.  de  I.,  67-6-7.  Acufia 
wrote  later:  “this  commonwealth  has  been  greatly  consoled  at  seeing  that  the 
Chinese  have  chosen  to  continue  the  commerce  of  which  we  were  much  in  doubt.” 
Acuna  to  the  King,  July  15,  1604,  B.  and  R.,  vol.  13,  p.  223. 

1  Rios  Coronel  to  the  King,  B.  and  R.,  vol.  18,  p.  308.  Morga,  Sucesos,  B.  and 
R.,  vol.  16,  p.  195.  Morga  adds  :  “for  they  are  the  mechanics  in  all  trades,  and  are 
excellent  workmen,  and  work  for  suitable  prices.” 

3Le  Gentil,  “Voyage,”  B.  and  R.,  vol.  51,  p.  231.  A  remarkable  feature  of  these 
racial  difficulties  is  the  singular  indifference  displayed  by  the  Chinese  government 
in  the  face  of  the  maltreatment  of  its  subjects,  who  left  the  Empire.  They  were 
held  as  ingrates,  or  even  as  traitors,  to  their  country,  and  as  such  could  expect  no 
redress  for  persecution  endured.  Concepcidn,  Historia,  vol.  4,  p.  62.  This  atti¬ 
tude  was  in  marked  contrast  to  that  of  the  Japanese  government  which  was  quick 
to  demand  explanations  and  reparation  for  the  harsh  treatment  of  its  subjects. 
In  1605  the  “  Visitador-General”  of  the  province  of  Chincheo  tried  to  arouse  the 
Emperor  to  avenge  the  massacre  of  “30,000”  Chinese  in  the  rising  of  two  years 
before.  However,  the  lethargy  and  pacific  inertia  of  the  huge  empire,  the  strong 
stand  taken  by  Acuna,  and  the  sending  of  an  embassy  which  flattered,  while  it 
impressed,  warded  off  whatever  danger  there  may  have  been.  The  letter  of  the 
Chinese  official  and  Acuna’s  reply  are  in  the  A.  de  I.,  67-6-7.  Recommending 
the  vigorous  enforcement  of  the  expulsion  decrees,  the  president  of  the  Council 
declared  that  the  Chinese  resided  in  the  Philippines  against  the  prohibition  of 
their  own  emperor.  December  16,  1743,  A.  de  I.,  68-5-16.  The  oidor,  Pedro 
Calderdn  Enriquez,  said  that  the  Emperor  of  China  could  not  object  to  the  expul¬ 
sion  of  Chinese,  for  the  exclusion  policy  followed  toward  foreigners  in  China  only 
justified  like  treatment  of  the  Chinese  in  the  Philippines.  Calderdn  Enriquez  to 
the  Governor,  June  16,  1741,  A.  de  I.,  68-5-16.  Berthold  Laufer  says,  however, 
that  the  Chinese  adopted  their  policy  of  exclusiveness  from  the  Spaniards ;  and 
the  rigor  with  which  Spain  kept  foreigners  from  her  dominions  certainly  shows 
that  the  Spanish  could  learn  little  from  the  Chinese  in  this  regard.  Laufer,  The 
Relations  of  the  Chinese  to  the  Philippine  Islands,  p.  266.  “The  Spanish  system 
of  treating  the  Chinese  became  the  model  of  the  Chinese  in  their  treatment  of 
foreigners.” 

4  A  royal  cedula  of  November  14,  1686,  ordered  all  Chinese  to  be  expelled  within 
two  months  if  they  did  not  accept  Christianity  and  promise  to  remain  Christians,  — 
not  a  serious  hindrance  to  a  Chinaman’s  continued  residence  in  the  islands.  A.  de 
I.,  68-5-16. 


220 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


tenance  of  communications  between  China  and  the  Philippines 
was  very  essential  to  the  propagation  of  missionary  work  in  the 
former  country.  On  the  other  hand,  the  alleged  vices  of  the 
Chinese  made  them  in  the  eyes  of  some  Spaniards  a  grave  moral 
menace,  and  their  obdurate  heresy  or  frivolous  conversion  set  a 
bad  example  to  the  native  Filipinos.1 

In  the  two  centuries  in  which  the  Spaniards’  interest  had  been 
engrossed  by  the  galleon  commerce  the  Chinese  had  so  completely 
monopolized  the  trades  and  retail  business  of  the  colony  that  the 
Spaniards  who  wished  to  enter  these  lines  of  work  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century  found  the  competition  of  the  Ori¬ 
ental  a  barrier  to  success.2  This  was  all  the  more  serious  in  that  the 

1  “La  riqueza  que  lea  facilita  el  comercio,  el  vicio  de  luxuria  que  generalmente 
reyna  entre  elloa,  y  su  demasiada  malicia  y  havilidad  causan  gravlsimoa  danos.” 
Pedro  Calderdn  Enriquez  to  the  King,  July  10,  1741,  A.  de  I.,  68-5-16.  The 
report  of  the  oidor,  drawn  up  after  a  tour  of  inspection  among  the  provinces,  is 
one  of  the  most  valuable  documents  for  the  study  of  the  Chinese  in  the  islands. 
It  is  dated  June  16,  1741,  and  was  directed  to  the  governor,  A.  de  I.,  68-5-16. 
“Su  gobierno  en  el  estado  presente  es  &  derecho  divino  nada  conforme,  y  A  las  leyes, 
ordenanzas  y  cOdulas  reales,  expressamente  contrario.”  Ibid.  A  memorial  of  the 
oidor  Diego  Calderon  Serrano,  written  April  10,  1677,  and  reviewed  by  the  Council, 
September  20,  1686,  insists  on  the  evil  influence  of  the  Chinese  over  the  natives. 
He  charges  the  former  with  inviting  and  even  forcing  the  natives  to  eat  meat  on 
fast  days,  of  dissuading  them  from  hearing  mass  or  sermons,  and  ordering  them  to 
work  on  feast  days,  “without  the  least  regard  for  the  things  of  the  other  life,  or 
for  God  or  his  law."  A.  de  I.,  68-5-16.  The  Audiencia  said  of  their  Christianity 
in  1695:  “Aunque  no  fueran  muy  buenos  Christianas,  produzen  muy  buenos 
Catolicos  y  leales  Vasallos  de  Vuestra  Magested.”  Audiencia  to  the  King,  June  18, 
1695.  A.  de  I.,  68-5-16.  A  royal  cedula  of  1744,  ordering  the  absolute  expulsion 
of  all  heathen  Chinese,  accused  the  Chinese,  among  other  things,  of  “idolatry  and 
atheism,  lasciviousness  and  sodomy,  astuteness,  vivacity  and  artifice,  usury  and 
deceit.”  Rea!  C6dula,  July  23,  1744,  A.  de  I.,  68-6-15.  The  remark  of  a  Jesuit 
friar  stationed  in  China  is  worth  quoting,  as  illustrating  the  recognition  of  the 
worth  of  the  Chinese  race  by  those  better  acquainted  with  their  civilization.  Writ¬ 
ing  to  Juan  Bautista  Rom&n,  the  Spanish  factor  at  Macao,  he  said  :  “Es  cosa  de 
admiracion  que  esta  gente  que  jam&s  tubo  comercio  con  la  de  Europa  aya  alcanzado 
casi  tanto  por  si  proprios.”  Relacion  de  Juan  Bautista  Rom&n,  factor  de  las 
islas  filipinas  en  Macao  (1584),  A.  de  I.,  67-6-29. 

Although  ley  34,  titulo  45,  libro  9,  of  the  Recopilaci6n  forbade  trade  with 
China  from  the  Philippines,  the  King  granted  permission  for  such  trade  in  1690, 
in  view  of  Governor  Vargas  Hurtado’s  representations  that  such  a  line  was  neces¬ 
sary  for  the  perpetuation  of  Christian  missions  in  China.  Real  C6dula,  September 
23,  1690,  A.  de  I.,  67-6-26. 

As  to  the  possible  effect  of  exclusion  on  conversion,  the  Audiencia  remarked  in 
1695  that  if  the  Chinese  were  forced  to  be  mere  transient  traders,  who  yearly  come 
and  go  with  the  monsoons,  their  conversion  would  be  difficult  on  account  of  their 
lack  of  fixed  habitation.  They  add:  “Porque  quien  anda  de  viage  siempre  coje 
las  cosas  de  ligero,  y  rara  vez  de  asiento.”  Ut  supra. 

2  “Los  Chinos  quitaban  las  utilidades  que  podian  tener  los  naturales  de  las 
mismas  islas,  y  los  Espanoles  que  residian  en  ellas,  por  exercer  los  mencionados 
Sangleyes  todas  las  Artes,  y  oficios  mec&nicos  de  la  Repfiblica.”  Ibid.  Pedro 
Gonz&lez  de  Ribera  and  others  to  the  Governor,  June  30,  1729,  A.  de  I.,  68-5-16. 

A  memorial  signed  by  leading  Spaniards  of  Manila,  including  Governor  Vera, 
petitioned  the  Council  to  forbid  the  Chinese  remaining  in  Manila  to  retail  their 
goods.  This  business,  they  said,  should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards.  (July 
26),  1586,  B.  and  R.,  vol.  6,  p.  168.  These  recommendations  were  incorporated  in  the 


THE  CHINESE  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


221 


galleon  trade  itself  was  at  this  time  controlled  by  a  few  affluent 
merchants.  As  a  result,  those  who  were  thrown  *  between  the 
two  monopolies  clamored  for  the  expulsion  and  exclusion  of  the 
Chinese  as  the  only  means  of  restoring  industrial  opportunity. 
The  foremost  advocate  of  this  policy  was  Simon  de  Anda  y  Salazar, 
one  of  the  ablest,  and  certainly  the  most  aggressive,  of  the  gov¬ 
ernors  of  the  period  of  revival.1  Anda  favored  not  only  the 
absolute  expulsion  of  the  Chinese,  gentiles  and  Christians,  but 
even  of  those  Spaniards  who  should  oppose  such  a  move.  He 
names  as  the  influences  against  expulsion  the  few  wealthier  Span¬ 
ish  merchants,  interested  solely  in  the  galleon  trade,  the  regulars 
and  the  governors.  The  position  of  the  first,  who  were  largely 
dependent  on  the  Chinese  for  their  purchases  for  the  galleons,  is 
easily  understood.  The  regular  clergy  found  in  the  Sangleys  a 
rich  field  for  conversion,  which  Anda  declares  to  have  been  a  large 
source  of  revenue.  He  says  that  when  the  order  came  for  the 
expulsion  of  all  heathen  Chinese  in  Arandfa’s  time,  two  friars 
baptized  four  hundred  Chinamen  in  one  day.  The  Chinese  had 
also  served  as  “a  most  abundant  milk  cow  for  the  government.” 
Unscrupulous  governors  had  levied  contributions  on  the  Sangley 
population,  while  holding  over  their  heads  the  threat  of  expulsion, 
—  the  old  resource  of  medieval  rulers  with  the  Jews.  By  sys¬ 
tematic  “adulation  and  subornation”  of  the  governor,  Anda 
continues,  the  pliant  Chinese  had  defeated  the  purpose  of  several 
orders  for  expulsion  sent  out  from  Madrid.  He  reiterates  the  old 
arguments  against  the  presence  of  the  Sangleys.  They  were  a 
standing  menace  to  the  Spanish  community,  even  to  the  point  of 
designing  the  seizure  of  the  islands.  Their  “masquerading” 
as  Christians  was  a  scandal  to  Christendom,2  and  the  religious 
practices  of  those  who  persisted  in  paganism  were  abhorrent  to 


instructions  given  to  Governor  G6mez  PArez  Dasmarifias  three  years  later.  B.  and 
R.,  vol.  7,  p.  154. 

1  Anda’s  views  are  vigorously  set  forth  in  a  long  bound  memorial  apparently 
directed  to  Julian  de  Arriaga,  first  Minister  of  the  Indies,  written  in  Madrid,  July  7, 
1768,  after  his  first  term  as  Governor  of  the  islands.  A.  de  I.,  108-3-17. 

2  “He  visto  An  Manila  6,  Dios  y  A  Belial  juntos  en  un  altar,  mano  A  mano,  y  muy 
amigos.”  As  evidence  of  the  insincerity  of  the  conversions,  “en  rebafios,”  Anda 
cites  the  relapse  of  the  Chinese  during  the  English  occupation.  “Todos  aposta- 
taron  (si  assi  se  puede  decir  de  quien  recibe  el  bautismo  sin  intencion),  todos  adoraron 
la  Caveza  del  Puerco,  la  Serpiente,  el  Confucio,  y  otras  Sabandijas  de  este  tenor.” 
In  1699  the  archbishop  accuses  the  insincerity  of  the  Christianity  of  the  Chinese. 
Archbishop  to  the  King,  June  8,  1699,  A.  de  I.,  68-5-16. 


222 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


the  governor  who,  if  sometimes  anti-clerical  in  action,  was  ortho¬ 
dox  in  belief. 

It  was  utterly  untrue,  Anda  protested,  that  the  welfare  of  the 
islands  depended  on  the  Chinese.1  However,  the  positive  feature 
of  his  scheme  was  the  creation  of  an  exclusively  Spanish  industrial 
community.  The  necessary  preliminary  to  this  was  naturally  the 
definitive  adoption  of  the  old  expulsion-exclusion  policy.  On 
his  first  entrance  into  office  as  governor,  a  petition  against  the 
Chinese  had  been  presented  by  “those  Spaniards  who  wish  to 
work  in  order  to  live.”  Henceforth,  this  large  element,  hitherto 
an  object  of  charity  and  in  a  state  closely  bordering  on  vaga¬ 
bondage,  —  though  they  had  once  held  a  place  in  the  galleon 
traffic,  —  found  a  spokesman  in  the  governor.  They  had  no 
part  in  the  existing  economic  regime,  but  once  the  Spaniards  were  rid 
of  the  Chinese,  they  could  take  their  places  as  shopkeepers  and 
could  make  up  the  personnel  of  Spanish  business  houses.2  Dur¬ 
ing  the  former  fitful  periods  of  exclusion  such  a  condition  had 
momentarily  existed,  only  to  disappear  with  the  restoration  of 
the  Orientals.  As  for  the  trades,  now  filled  by  Chinese  workmen, 
the  natives  —  and  such  Spaniards  as  wished  —  could  take  their 
place.  For  those  who  shipped  cargoes  in  the  galleons  to  Acapulco, 
the  Chinese  might  come  each  year  to  Manila,  sell  their  goods  under 
the  restrictions  of  the  old  sixteenth  century  law,  and  catch  the 
returning  monsoon  for  the  Chinese  coast.  Or  better  still,  Span¬ 
ish  merchants  might  send  factors  to  Macao  and  Canton  as  did 
other  European  traders,  and  later  despatch  Spanish  owned  shops 
to  carry  the  consignments  to  Manila  for  the  galleons.  The  next 
year  after  Anda  presented  his  memorial  to  Arriaga,  the  Ministro 
General,  the  order  of  expulsion  was  put  into  execution.  In  1778, 
two  years  after  Anda’s  death,  and  during  the  governorship  of 
Basco  y  Vargas,  the  Chinese  were  permitted  to  return  to  Manila. 

1  Concerning  the  deportation  by  Arandia  in  1755,  Foreman,  The  Philippine 
Islands,  282,  says:  “Trade  became  stagnant.  The  Philippines  now  experienced 
what  Spain  had  felt  since  the  reign  of  Philip  III,  when  the  expulsion  of  900,000 
Moorish  agriculturists  and  artisans  crippled  her  home  industries,  which  it  took  a 
century  and  a  half  to  revive.  The  Acapulco  trade  was  fast  on  the  wane  and  the 
Spanish  elements  were  anxious  to  get  the  local  trade  into  their  hands.” 

2  “Son  precisos  comerciantes  y  caxeros  6  mancebos  de  mercader,  para  que  arro- 
jados  de  una  vez  los  Chinos  (sin  que  quede  uno)  se  ponga  aqueal  comercio  como 
en  Espana  y  la  America.” 


THE  QUESTION  OF  ECCLESIASTICAL  VISITATION  IN 
THE  PHILIPPINES 


Charles  H.  Cunningham 

Closely  similar  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  audiencia  as  a  court 
of  final  resort  in  the  testing  of  titles  to  lands  occupied  by  the  re¬ 
ligious  orders,  was  that  which  the  tribunal  exercised  in  the  matter 
of  ecclesiastical  visitation.  This  was  a  question  of  a  pronounced 
canonical  character  which  did  not  concern  the  civil  government 
as  completely  as  did  the  matter  of  the  friar  lands.  While  the  issue 
of  the  friar  lands  controversies  was  always  between  the  orders 
and  the  civil  government,  the  disputes  over  ecclesiastical  visitation 
involved  the  ordinaries  on  the  one  hand  and  the  dissenting  friars 
on  the  other.  In  general  it  may  be  said  that  the  audiencia  was 
utilized  by  both  sides  in  the  various  disputes  which  arose.  The 
archbishop  relied  on  it  for  assistance  in  the  enforcement  of  his 
claims,  and  the  friars  sought  its  protection  as  a  court  of  justice  to 
protect  them  from  the  visitation  of  the  ordinary.  As  in  the  matter 
of  the  friar  lands,  wherein  the  authority  of  the  audiencia  was  not 
imposed  solely  as  a  court  of  justice,  so  in  this  question,  also,  it 
acted  both  as  a  tribunal  of  justice  and  particularly  as  an  agent  or 
champion  of  the  royal  patronage.  The  laws  of  the  Indies  estab¬ 
lished  the  audiencia  as  a  tribunal  and  as  a  compelling  authority 
for  the  enforcement  of  ecclesiastical  visitation.  The  archbishop 
was  directed  to  appeal  to  the  audiencia  or  vice-patron  for  assistance 
in  the  subjection  of  offending  curates,1  but  the  ordinary  was  for¬ 
bidden  to  inspect  the  regulars  in  the  monasteries ; 2  which,  of 
course,  did  not  prevent  his  visiting  them  when  they  were  in  charge 
of  curacies.  The  audiencia  was  forbidden  to  entertain,  on  grounds 
of  fuerza,  appeals  from  regulars  who  objected  to  the  visitation  of  the 
ordinaries.3 

1  Recop.  de  Ind.,  lib.  1,  tit.  15,  ley  28. 

2  Ibid.,  ley  29. 

3  Ibid.,  ley  31.  A  recourse  of  fuerza  was  an  appeal  taken  to  a  civil  tribunal 

223 


224 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Among  writers  on  this  subject  Professor  Moses  analyzes  quite 
clearly  the  causes  of  the  visitation  controversy.  He  writes  as 
follows:  “In  America  the  monks  were  given  a  somewhat  unusual 
position.  According  to  the  canon  law  they  were  not  able  to  hold 
beneficed  curacies,  but  the  extent  of  the  American  field  and  the 
limited  number  of  the  clergy  available  to  occupy  it,  induced  Leo 
X,  Adrian  VI,  Paul  III,  Clement  VIII,  and  Pius  V  to  permit  them 
to  become  parish  priests.  Under  this  order  a  very  large  number 
of  these  parishes  in  America  in  the  first  century  were  occupied 
by  friars.  But  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  this  privi¬ 
lege  was  withdrawn,  leaving  them  only  two  friars  in  a  conventional 
parish.”  1  The  ecclesiastical  problem  in  the  Philippines  was  the 
same  as  in  New  Spain  and  Peru,  and  it  became  necessary  there 
also  to  substitute  friars  for  seculars.  The  ordinaries  were  author¬ 
ized  by  the  Council  of  Trent  to  inspect  the  friars  when  acting  in 
this  capacity.2 

The  chief  object  of  the  archiepiscopal  visit  referred  to  “was 
to  introduce  the  entire  Catholic  doctrine  ...  to  expel  heresies, 
to  promote  good  customs,  to  save  souls,  to  inflame  the  people  with 
religious  exhortations  and  counsels,  to  arrange  everything  in 
accordance  with  the  convenience  of  the  faithful,  according  to  the 
prudence  of  the  visitor.”  3  In  other  words,  by  principle  of  epis¬ 
copal  visitation  the  archbishop  was  conceded  ultimate  jurisdic¬ 
tion  and  reformatory  power  over  the  organized  Church,  and  this 
made  no  exception  of  the  regular  clergy  when  the  latter  were 
acting  in  place  of  the  seculars  in  the  parishes.  Aside  from  the 
jealousy  always  prevalent  in  the  relations  of  the  regular  and  secu¬ 
lar  clergy,  the  application  of  this  principle  placed  the  former  in  a 
position  of  subjection  to  two  masters  (the  superior  of  their  order 
and  the  ordinary),  which  was  an  impossible  situation. 

Philip  IV,  in  a  cedula  dated  August  14,  1622,  ordered  the  pro¬ 
mulgation  in  the  Philippines  of  a  decree  which  had  been  issued 
on  June  22  of  the  same  year  for  the  establishments  of  New  Spain. 

from  an  ecclesiastical  judge  on  the  grounds  that  the  latter  was  acting  in  excess  o  f 
his  proper  and  authorized  jurisdiction. 

1  Moses,  South  America  on  the  Eve  of  Emancipation,  pp.  138-139.  The  most 
important  of  these  bulls,  referred  to  by  Professor  Moses,  are  to  be  found  in  Icaz- 
balceta-Mendieta,  Historia  Eclesidstica,  pp.  191-196. 

2  Perez  y  L6pez,  Teatro,  vol.  27,  pp.  587-588. 

a  Ibid.,  p.  586. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  VISITATION  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  225 


By  this  law  the  stamp  of  royal  approval  was  placed  on  the  prin¬ 
ciple  of  the  visitation  of  parochially  employed  regulars  in  the 
Islands  by  the  ordinaries.  It  was  provided  that  parishes  occupied 
by  regulars  should  remain  thus,  but  it  discountenanced  the  prin¬ 
ciple  of  placing  friars  in  such  charges  in  the  future.1  A  distinc¬ 
tion  was  made  between  the  jurisdiction  of  the  archbishop  and  that 
of  the  religious  provincials.  Parishes  occupied  by  friars  should 
be  subject  to  the  archbishop  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  care 
of  souls,  the  support  and  regulation  of  the  churches,  divine 
worship,  and  the  administration  of  the  sacrament,  but  all 
matters  relating  to  the  personal  characters  and  conduct  of 
the  friars  and  their  relation  to  the  orders  should  be  referred  to 
the  religious  superior  of  the  particular  order  to  which  the  offend¬ 
ing  friar  belonged.2 

There  exists  much  evidence  to  prove  that  friars  were  often 
placed  in  parishes  to  the  exclusion  of  seculars  who  had  a  better 
and  more  natural  right  to  occupy  these  charges.  This  seems  to 
have  been  done  by  ambitious  ordinaries  who  were  desirous  of 
extending  the  holdings  of  their  particular  orders.  An  illustra¬ 
tion  of  this  tendency  and  its  results  is  shown  in  a  letter  sent 
by  the  cabildo  at  Manila  to  Philip  IV  in  1632  :  “This  city  is  to-day 
full  of  poverty-stricken  seculars,  and  one  must  fear  that  there  will 
be  so  many  in  a  few  years  that  they  will  die  of  hunger  because  we 
have  no  benefices  to  give  them  in  this  archbishopric,  or  through¬ 
out  the  Islands ;  for  these  are  held  by  friars  who  cost  Your  Maj¬ 
esty  so  dearly.”  3  This  statement  might  seem  to  indicate  that 
there  existed  on  the  part  of  the  orders  a  deliberate  scheme  to  gain 
possession  of  a  vast  number  of  livings,  and  hold  them,  independ¬ 
ently  either  of  the  government  or  of  the  diocese.  Another  illus¬ 
tration  may  be  given.  In  1639  the  archbishop  received  from  the 
king  a  cedula  which  ordered  that  in  all  parishes  regulars  should  be 
replaced  by  seculars.  The  archbishop  and  audiencia,  acting  in 
acuerdo,  decided  to  suspend  this  order  temporarily.  This  was 
done  on  the  grounds  that  the  youth,  immaturity,  and  lack  of 
experience  of  the  secular  priests  in  the  Philippines  showed  that 

1  Decree  of  the  King  at  San  Lorenzo.  November  1603  (Blair  and  Robertson, 
The  Philippine  Islands,  vol.  20,  p.  87). 

2  B.  and  R.,  vol.  21,  pp.  32-78. 

3  Cabildo  to  Philip  IV,  January  7,  1632  (B.  and  R.,  vol.  24,  p.  247). 

Q 


226 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


compliance  with  the  order  of  the  king  would  be  unwise.1  It  is 
difficult  to  determine  whether  this  was  a  true  statement,  or  whether 
it  may  be  considered  a  confirmation  of  the  above  letter  of  the 
cabildo .2  The  non-compliance  of  the  Manila  authorities  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  they  were  favorable  to  the  friars. 

These  struggles  between  the  archbishops  and  the  friars  con¬ 
tinued  throughout  the  history  of  the  Islands.  The  question  of 
visitation  came  up  for  the  first  time  in  1582,  when  Bishop  Salazar 
stoutly  maintained  that  whoever  occupied  the  parishes,  whether 
they  were  regulars  or  seculars,  should  submit  to  his  jurisdiction. 
Governor  Ronquillo  de  Penalosa  and  the  audiencia  were  obliged  to 
intervene  between  the  bishop  and  the  regulars  in  behalf  of  the 
former,  and  although  the  conflict  was  quieted,  the  question  at 
issue  was  not  settled.3  It  was  said  that  Governor  Penalosa’s 
premature  death  in  1583  was  hastened  by  the  hostility  and  vindic¬ 
tiveness  of  the  friars. 

The  second  contest  came  about  in  1620-21,  when  Archbishop 
Serrano  sought  to  enforce  the  principle  of  visitation.  In  a  letter 
to  the  king,  dated  July  31,  1622,  Serrano  asked  for  royal  support 
in  his  efforts  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  the  regulars,  charging 
the  latter  with  such  laxity,  indolence,  and  disobedience,  that  their 
presence,  unrestrained,  constituted  a  grave  peril  to  the  state.  He 
commented  on  the  personnel  of  the  orders,  alleging  that  the  mem¬ 
bers  had  been  poorly  selected ;  that  the  morals  of  most  of  the 
friars  were  bad,  and  their  education  defective.4  Serrano  had  ap¬ 
pealed  to  the  audiencia  for  support,  but  as  the  tribunal  was  in  the 
power  of  Fajardo,  it  was  unable  to  render  him  assistance  at  that 
time  and  the  archbishop  was  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  the  king.5 

The  third  vigorous  attempt  of  an  ordinary  to  enforce  episcopal 
visitation  was  made  by  Archbishop  Poblete  in  1653.  He  likewise 

1  The  King  to  the  Archbishop,  December  16,  1639  (B.  and  R.,  vol.  29,  p.  191). 

2  An  argument  against  the  assumption  that  the  friars  really  desired  to  hold  the 
curacies  may  be  found  in  the  memorial  of  1699  (B.  and  R.,  vol.  42,  pp.  64-84),  but 
it  is  questionable  whether  the  authors  of  this  memorial  seriously  contemplated 
withdrawal,  as  they  knew  that  the  government  had  no  seculars  with  which  to  re¬ 
place  them. 

3  Montero  y  Vidal,  vol.  1,  pp.  86-87.  Most  of  the  ecclesiastical  historians, 
Zfiniga,  Concepcidn,  Buceta  y  Bravo,  Delgado,  and  Murillo  Velarde,  being  regulars, 
opposed  this  principle.  Their  writings  clearly  manifest  their  lack  of  sympathy. 

4  Serrano  to  the  King,  July  30,  1622  (B.  and  R.,  vol.  20,  p.  87). 

6  B.  and  R.,  vol.  21,  pp.  32-78  (including  testimonials  and  letters  bearing  on 
the  question  of  visitation,  and  the  efforts  of  the  archbishop  to  enforce  the  principle). 


ECCLESIASTICAL  VISITATION  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  227 


met  with  the  pronounced  opposition  of  the  friars,  supported,  as 
they  were  on  the  occasion,  by  the  royal  audiencia.  On  the  ground 
that  local  traditions  of  which  the  archbishop,  on  account  of  his 
short  period  of  residence  in  the  Islands,  had  no  cognizance,  ren¬ 
dered  visitation  impossible,  the  audiencia  commanded  the  ordinary 
to  suspend  his  attempts  until  advice  could  be  received  from  the 
Council  of  the  Indies.1  It  is  true  that  archbishops,  full  of  zeal 
and  ambition,  and  fresh  from  the  ecclesiastical  fields  of  Spain  and 
Mexico,  often  made  more  determined  efforts  to  enforce  these 
prerogatives  on  their  arrival  than  a  few  years  later,  when  they  had 
become  more  accustomed  to  local  conditions,  and  their  vitality 
had  been  sapped  by  the  enervation  of  a  tropical  climate.  The 
deciding  incident  in  Poblete’s  attempt  was  the  threat  of  several 
of  the  orders  to  resign  and  leave  their  curacies,  if  he  did  not  desist 
from  his  alleged  persecutions.2 

Archbishop  Camacho’s  ecclesiastical  administration,  beginning 
September  13,  1697,  was  noted  for  two  controversies.  One  of 
them  was  over  the  question  of  the  royal  inspection  of  land  titles 
and  the  other  involved  episcopal  visitation.  These  two  questions 
were  clearly  related  at  this  time  on  account  of  Camacho’s  deter¬ 
mination  to  support  the  government  in  its  efforts  to  verify  the 
titles  of  the  friars  in  relation  to  the  refusal  of  the  latter  to  submit 
to  his  visitation.  Camacho  was  said  to  have  purchased  the  sup¬ 
port  of  the  audiencia  in  his  struggle  with  the  friars  by  conceding 
the  right  of  the  civil  authorities  to  inspect  these  titles.  In  his 
repeated  summons  to  the  friars  the  ordinary  cited  the  authority 
of  the  Council  of  Trent  and  the  repeated  cedulas  of  the  king  of 
Spain.3  The  bitterness  of  the  struggle  over  episcopal  visitation 
became  more  pronounced  under  Camacho  because  his  determina¬ 
tion  exceeded  that  of  any  of  his  predecessors. 

On  February  13,  1699,  the  resident  procurators  (in  Madrid)  of 
the  Franciscans,  Augustinians,  Recollects,  Jesuits,  and  even  the 
Dominicans  (the  latter  usually  sided  with  the  archbishops  of  their 
order),  presented  a  joint  memorial  4  in  opposition  to  the  combined 


1  B.  and  R.,  vol.  37,  pp.  193-200. 

*  Montero  y  Vidal,  vol.  1,  p.  295. 

3  Cabildo  to  the  King,  June  29,  1083  (Archivo  General  de  Indias,  69-1-29). 

*  Memorial  of  the  Procurators  of  the  Religious  Orders  to  the  King,  February  13, 
1699  (B.  and  R.,  vol.  42,  pp.  64-112). 


228 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


power  of  the  government  and  the  archbishop,  which,  united,  seemed 
at  last  to  be  at  the  point  of  triumph.  The  memorial  consisted  of 
three  parts.  The  first  was  devoted  to  an  exposition  of  actual 
conditions,  in  which  it  was  announced  that  in  protestation  against 
the  efforts  of  the  archbishop  to  enforce  visitation  “the  religious 
orders  declined  to  submit,  .  .  .  and  were  resolved  to  abandon 
all  Indian  villages  .rather  than  administer  them  subject  to  the 
archbishop.”  Fifty  friars  actually  resigned  their  parishes,  and 
the  archbishop  removed  others,  leaving  the  villages  without 
Spanish  occupants,  to  the  demoralization  of  the  natives  there. 
The  audiencia  had  unsuccessfully  attempted  to  restrain  the 
friars  from  leaving  so  summarily.  Its  manner  of  addressing  the 
provincials  of  the  orders  in  Manila,  according  to  the  accounts 
of  the  procurators,  had  been  disrespectful  in  the  extreme.  Vari¬ 
ous  charges  had  been  made  against  them,  and  they  had  been  given 
no  chance  to  defend  themselves. 

The  second  part  of  their  memorial  sought  to  prove  that  friars 
should  not  be  forced  to  act  as  parish  priests.  The  work  was 
inconsistent  with  the  real  calling  of  their  profession.  It  was 
accessory  to  their  duties.  It  interfered  with  the  offices  of  the 
missionary  friars,  and  limited  their  scope.  The  tenure  of  a  parish 
priest  was  short,  and  liable  to  change,  while  that  of  a  friar  was  for 
life.  When  a  friar  acted  as  parish  priest  he  was  moved  here  and 
there,  and  was  consequently  unable  to  become  permanently 
identified  with  any  community  to  the  extent  necessary  to  exer¬ 
cise  his  missionary  duties  properly.  He  was  forced  to  associate 
with  parish  priests,  whose  qualifications  were  not  as  high  and 
whose  training  was  not  as  thorough  as  his  own,  and  in  the  minds  of 
all  he  really  became  identified  with  the  secular  clergy,  suffering 
in  the  respect  due  to  him  by  virtue  of  his  long  training,  his  vows, 
and  his  exalted  character. 

The  third  argument  advanced  in  this  valuable  and  interesting 
memorial  was  that  if  the  friars  held  curacies,  they  should  not 
look  to  the  archbishop  as  their  superior,  because  they  were  already 
subject  to  their  respective  provincials.  Such  a  relationship  to 
the  archbishop,  also,  involved  a  divided  responsibility  and  a 
conflict  of  jurisdiction  which  had  caused  much  difficulty  and  annoy¬ 
ance  through  the  history  of  the  Islands,  and  which  would  never 


ECCLESIASTICAL  VISITATION  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  229 


yield  beneficial  results.  Under  this  condition  the  agreement  of 
the  archbishop,  provincial,  and  vice-patron  was  necessary  before 
any  friar  holding  a  parish  could  be  removed.  This  method  was 
always  cumbersome  and  impossible  of  proper  execution,  owing 
to  the  usual  non-conformity  of  at  least  one  of  the  trio.  The  pro¬ 
curators  argued  that  although  the  Council  of  Trent  had  authorized 
the  episcopal  visitation  of  parishes  held  by  regulars,  two  popes, 
Pius  V  and  Urban  VIII,  had  subsequently  exempted  the  friars 
from  subjection,  when,  as  in  the  Philippines,  they  held  them  merely 
from  a  sense  of  duty  and  out  of  a  spirit  of  accommodation.1 

This  memorial  presented  to  the  King  the  alternative  of  exemp¬ 
tion  from  visitation  or  withdrawal  from  the  curacies.  Behind 
this  was  a  veiled  threat  that  the  friars  would  leave  the  Islands  if 
visitation  were  insisted  on.2  The  procurators,  quoting  a  cedula 
dated  November  27,  1687,  in  which  the  king  had  ordered  the  tem¬ 
porary  suspension  of  visitation,  affected  to  believe  that  the  royal 
authority  was  on  their  side  in  the  matter.  They  seemed  to  take  it 
for  granted  that  they  would  be  further  excused,3  which  supposition, 
in  view  of  subsequent  events,  proved  to  be  correct.  The  immedi¬ 
ate  effect  of  their  memorial,  however,  was  to  bring  forth  a  royal 
cedula  of  May  20,  1700,  in  which  the  monarch  congratulated 
Archbishop  Camacho  on  his  stand,  assured  him  of  the  royal  sup¬ 
port,  and  authorized  further  insistence  on  visitation,  at  the  same 
time  expressing  the  assurance  that  the  friars  could  not  and  would 
not  leave  the  curacies,  or  retire  from  the  Islands,  as  the  audiencia 


1  Memorial  of  the  Procurators  of  the  Religious  Orders  to  the  King,  February  13, 
1699  (B.  and  R.,  vol.  42,  pp.  72-73).  This  memorial  states  that  at  this  time,  out  of  800 
parishes,  only  60  were  held  by  seculars.  The  withdrawal  of  the  regulars  evidently 
threatened  to  depopulate  the  curacies,  ecclesiastically.  Very  much  the  same  condition 
existed  in  New  Spain.  In  1754  the  king  decreed  that  for  ten  years  no  more  friars 
should  be  admitted.  According  to  Humboldt,  in  1803,  there  were  approximately  8000 
regulars  in  New  Spain,  and  1200  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  alone.  The  same  struggle 
was  fought  out  there  as  in  the  Philippines,  except  on  a  larger  scale.  They  pro¬ 
tested  against  removal  from  the  parishes,  and  resisted  the  visitation  of  the  bishops 
until  concessions  were  made  to  them.  The  morals  of  the  regulars  became  debased 
in  the  eighteenth  century.  They  openly  defied  the  law.  They  grew  rich  and 
extravagant,  owning  large  estates,  opening  shops,  and  openly  indulging  in  traffic. 
They  caroused,  feasted,  and  spent  their  time  in  debauchery,  dice  throwing  and  card 
playing,  accompanied  by  swearing  and  cursing.  They  broke  the  rules  of  celibacy. 
The  earlier  monastic  simplicity  gave  way  to  luxury  and  the  flagrant  assumption 
and  display  of  authority,  and  monastic  communities,  in  common  with  the  secular 
clergy,  possessed  themselves  of  estates  bequeathed  to  them  by  persons  whose  un¬ 
biased  action  was  interfered  with  to  the  detriment  of  their  own  heirs.  Bancroft, 
History  of  Mexico,  vol.  3,  pp.  704-709,  passim. 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  109-110. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  102. 


230 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


had  power  to  enforce  their  submission,  and  thus  prevent  their 
withdrawal.1  At  the  same  time  and  on  the  same  date  the  king 
directed  to  the  audiencia  an  order  commanding  that  it  lend  its 
assistance  to  the  efforts  of  the  archbishop  to  enforce  visitation.2 
This  latter  cedilla  was  re-promulgated  on  July  1,  1701.  The 
audiencia  was  especially  directed  to  give  every  possible  assistance 
to  the  enforcement  of  the  laws  bearing  on  the  subject.3  This 
promulgation  recognized  the  temporary  nature  of  the  occupancy 
of  the  parishes  by  the  friars,  authorized  visitation  by  the  arch¬ 
bishop,  and  established  the  audiencia  as  an  agency  for  the  enforce¬ 
ment  of  the  principle  of  ecclesiastical  visitation. 

Notwithstanding  this  seeming  triumph  of  the  archbishop,  the 
latter  was  opposed  more  vigorously  than  ever  by  the  friars.  Con¬ 
ditions  came  to  be  so  unsettled  that,  according  to  one  writer,  the 
governor,  growing  weary  of  the  continual  turmoil  and  incessant 
warfare,  withdrew  his  support  and  that  of  the  audiencia.  As  a 
consequence,  Camacho  failed  in  his  efforts,  and  the  friars  emerged 
victorious,  retaining  their  curacies  and  at  the  same  time  remain¬ 
ing  free  from  visitation.4  It  may  be  noted  that  here  again  expedi¬ 
ency  stood  in  the  way  of  principle.  The  defeat  of  the  archbishop 
was  inevitable  when  the  audiencia  and  the  governor  deserted  him. 

Although  Camacho  was  vanquished  by  local  conditions,  Pope 
Clement  XI,  in  response  to  the  appeal  of  the  archbishop,  issued 
a  bull  by  which  the  subjection  of  regulars  under  the  circumstances 
prevalent  in  the  Philippines,  was  ordered.  This  bull  came  through 
the  Council  of  the  Indies,  duly  endorsed,  and  it  seemed  that 
nothing  was  left  for  the  regulars  but  to  submit.5  This  was  the 
status  of  the  situation  in  1707  when  Archbishop  de  la  Cuesta, 
inspired,  as  Camacho  had  been,  with  a  desire  to  execute  strictly 
all  laws  and  cedulas,  arrived  on  the  scene  and  set  to  work  to  en¬ 
force  the  subjection  of  the  friars  to  his  diocesan  rule.  The  regu¬ 
lars,  while  abiding  by  the  papal  bull,  protested  that  it  should  be 
applicable  only  to  those  who  had  arrived  in  the  Islands  before  the 

1  Royal  Decree  of  May  20,  1700  (A.  G.  de  I.,  68-4-12).  This  belief  was  based  on 
ley  28,  tit.  15,  lib.  1. 

2  Cedula  of  May  20,  1700  (A.  G.  de  I.,  68-4-12). 

3  Recop.  de  Ind.,  lib.  1,  tit.  15,  ley  28. 

4  Pardo  de  Tavera,  The  Power  of  the  Monastic  Orders  in  Philippine  Census, 
vol.  1,  p.  343. 

6  Montero  y  Vidal,  vol.  1,  p.  398.  The  exact  date  of  this  bull  is  not  given  by 
Montero  y  Vidal. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  VISITATION  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  231 


bull  was  issued,  and  accordingly  they  appealed  the  question, 
with  the  consent  of  the  archbishop,  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies. 
The  ordinary,  awaiting  returns  from  the  Council,  temporarily 
suspended  his  visitation. 

The  king,  meanwhile,  had  received  from  the  governor  of  the 
Philippines  a  full  account  of  the  resistance  of  the  friars  to  Camacho, 
and  had  learned,  contrary  to  his  expectations,  that  the  audiencia 
actually  had  been  unable  to  enforce  the  cedulas  of  May  29,  1700 
and  July  1,  1701,  and  those  laws  of  the  Indies  1  which  ordered  the 
tribunal  to  support  the  archbishop  and  prevent  the  wholesale  deser¬ 
tion  of  the  curacies.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  were  deserted  in 
spite  of  the  audiencia,  and  a  large  number  of  friars  were  on  the 
point  of  leaving  the  Islands.  This  condition,  which  had  deterred 
the  governor  and  the  audiencia,  also  gave  food  for  reflection  to 
the  king.  Conditions  similar  to  this  also  prevailed  in  the  New 
World.2  The  king  accordingly  issued  an  order  to  Cuesta  com¬ 
manding  him  to  desist  from  his  attempts  at  visitation  among 
the  regulars  until  further  orders  were  received.3  While  this  con¬ 
troversy  was  in  progress,  Bishop  Irala,  of  Nueva  Segovia,  tried 
to  enforce  visitation  in  his  district.  The  matter  was  appealed  to 
the  audiencia  by  way  of  fuerza,  and  although  the  proceeding  was 
contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  Indies,4  the  audiencia  sustained  the 
regulars,  exempting  them  from  the  interference  of  the  ordinary.5 

This  suspended  status  of  the  principle  of  episcopal  visitation 
continued  in  the  Philippines  from  1701  until  1767,  when,  in  con¬ 
formity  with  a  papal  bull  issued  November  6,  1744,  and  confirmed 
by  the  king  in  1751,  Archbishop  Santos  y  Rufina  determined 
to  subject  the  friar  parish  priests  to  his  inspection.  The  widely 
accepted  view  among  the  secular  clergy  that  the  continual  assign¬ 
ment  of  friars  to  parishes  was  an  encroachment  on  the  canonical 
functions  of  the  diocesan  clergy  had  caused  strong  protests  to  be 
made  at  Court  from  all  quarters  against  the  immorality  and 
viciousness  of  the  regulars.  As  a  result  of  the  influence  which 
had  been  brought  to  bear,  Ferdinand  V  issued  a  decree  in  1757 

1  Recop.  de  Ind.,  lib.  1,  tit.  15,  ley  28.  See  above  in  A.  G.  de  I.,  68-4-12. 

2  Bancroft,  History  of  Mexico,  vol.  3,  pp.  681-682,  702-709;  Lowery,  Wood¬ 
bury,  Spanish  Settlements  within  the  United  States:  1518-1561,  pp.  390-391. 

3  Ztiniga,  Historia  (Spanish  ed.,  1803),  pp.  418-419  ;  Montero  y  Vidal,  pp.  398-399. 

4  Recop.  de  Ind.,  lib.  1,  tit.  15,  ley  31. 

{B.  and  R.,  vol.  44,  p.  147. 


232 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


which  prohibited  friars  from  assuming  the  care  of  parishes  in  the 
future,  and  provided  that  as  the  curacies  occupied  by  regulars 
became  vacant  through  death,  only  members  of  the  secular  clergy 
should  be  appointed  to  the  vacancies  thus  created.1 

Archbishop  Santos  y  Rufina  was  at  first  successful.  In  his 
efforts  he  was  supported  by  Governor  Raon,  and  he  actually  ob¬ 
tained  the  submission  of  some  of  the  Dominicans  who  held  cura¬ 
cies.  Raon  ordered  the  provincials  of  the  orders  to  submit  to  the 
royal  patronage.  With  respect  to  the  filling  of  the  vacancies  in 
the  future  he  directed  that  they  should  submit  to  him,  as  vice¬ 
patron,  the  names  of  three  friars  for  each  vacancy,  and  from  among 
those  recommended  he  should  have  the  ultimate  power  of  select¬ 
ing  the  successful  candidate.  This  almost  unheard  of  presumption 
of  the  governor  (so  styled  by  the  Dominicans),  gave  rise  to  a  storm 
of  protest.  The  regulars  vacated  many  curacies,  and  again  threat¬ 
ened  to  leave  the  Islands.  The  archbishop  filled  the  vacancies 
with  native  priests  whose  low  moral  caliber,  as  evidenced  by  their 
conduct  in  office,  soon  proved  to  be  entirely  incompatible  with  the 
duties  which  they  were  called  on  to  perform,  and  the  condition  of 
the  parishes  became  worse  than  when  the  regulars  had  held  them.2 
Appeals  were  again  made  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  both  by 
regulars  and  the  archbishop,  and  the  execution  of  the  principle 
was  once  again  suspended.  The  real  defeat  of  the  archbishop  was 
brought  about  by  the  change  in  the  attitude  of  Governor  Raon, 
who  withdrew  his  support  and  no  longer  insisted  on  enforcing 
the  royal  patronage  in  the  matter  of  filling  the  curacies.3 

Santos  y  Rufina  was  again  emboldened  to  insist  on  visitation 
after  the  arrival  of  Governor  Anda  y  Salazar.  Anda  had  shown 
himself  to  be  much  in  favor  of  subjecting  the  friars  to  visitation, 
by  his  lengthy  memorial  of  April  12,  1768, 4  in  which  he  set  forth 

1  Moses,  South  America  on  the  Eve  of  Emancipation,  p.  142.  The  original  decree 
exists  in  A.  G.  de  I.,  106-4-21. 

2  M.  and  V.,  vol.  2,  pp.  132,  134-138  ;  Buzeta  y  Bravo,  Diccionario,  vol  2,  p.  279. 
It  became  a  common  saying  in  this  connection,  that  there  were  no  longer  enough 
rowers  for  the  river  boats,  because  the  archbishop  had  ordained  them  all  as  priests. 
The  above  action  of  the  govneror  was  in  compliance  with  the  cedulas  of  August  1, 
1753  and  of  June  23,  1757,  which  ordered  that  the  regulars  holding  curacies  should 
be  subjected  to  the  vice-patron.  Anda  enforced  this  principle. 

3  It  is  possible  that  Raon  was  susceptible  to  the  influence  of  bribes  in  this  matter, 
as  he  had  shown  himself  to  be  in  1769,  when,  it  is  said,  he  accepted  20,000  pesos 
from  the  Jesuits  for  favoring  them  when  they  were  expelled  from  the  Islands.  La 
Gentil,  Voyage,  vol.  2,  pp.  189-190. 

3  Anda’s  Memorial  of  April  12,  1768  (B.  and  R.,  vol.  50,  pp.  136-178). 


ECCLESIASTICAL  VISITATION  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  233 


the  evil  influences  of  the  regular  clergy  in  the  Philippines.  His 
recommendations  were  carefully  followed,  on  account  of  his  former 
term  of  service  and  experience  in  the  Philippines  (having  been 
oidor  and  temporary  governor  from  1759  to  1764),  where  his  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  observe  conditions  gave  a  practical  character  to  his 
opinions,  not  to  be  found  in  the  theories  of  others.  Through 
Anda’s  influence  was  secured  the  promulgation  of  the  royal  decrees 
of  August  5  and  of  November  9,  1774,  ordering  the  secularization 
of  the  holdings  of  the  regulars  as  rapidly  as  they  were  vacated, 
and  their  transfer  into  the  hands  of  the  secular  clergy.  This 
decree  was  a  reaffirmation  of  that  of  June  23,  1753.1  In  addition 
it  permitted  the  retention  by  the  several  orders  of  not  more  than 
two  parishes  in  each  province,  provided  that  the  orders  in  ques¬ 
tion  were  in  possession  at  the  time  the  cedula  was  expedited. 
Necessary  convents  for  the  residence  and  training  of  regulars 
were  allowed  in  the  provinces.2 

Among  the  early  official  acts  of  Anda,  after  his  return  to  the 
islands,  was  the  promulgation  of  a  decree  on  October  26,  1771, 
ordering  that  by  virtue  of  the  royal  patronage  and  the  provisions 
of  the  Council  of  Trent,  the  regulars  should  make  place  for  the 
seculars  by  surrendering  their  parishes  as  fast  as  the  latter  pre¬ 
sented  themselves  to  succeed  them.3  This  decree  was  issued  on 
the  basis  of  information  furnished  him  by  Archbishop  Santos  y 
Rufina  on  October  23  of  that  year,  to  the  effect  that  there  was  a 
sufficient  number  of  curates  to  fill  the  parishes ;  hence  if  the  regu¬ 
lars  continued  as  parish  priests  they  would  be  acting  in  depriva¬ 
tion  of  unassigned  seculars  who  were  waiting  in  Manila.4  Anda 
despatched  decrees  to  the  various  alcaldes  mayores  ordering  them 
to  put  an  end  to  the  continuance  of  the  friars  as  parish  priests 
where  seculars  were  available.5 

Anda’s  efforts  to  enforce  episcopal  visitation,  and  to  bring 

1  Montero  y  Vidal,  vol.  2,  p.  257,  et  seq. ;  Cedulas  of  June  27,  1757,  August  5  and 
November  9,  1774  (A.  G.  de  I„  106-4-21). 

3  The  activities  of  the  regulars  were  supposed  to  be  confined  to  the  frontiers 
where  missionary  work  was  possible.  Padre  Pastels,  the  modern  Jesuit  authority, 
in  an  interview  with  the  writer,  outlined  the  divisions  occupied  by  the  regulars 
as  follows:  Augustinians,  Cebu,  Luzon,  Manila;  Dominicans,  Northern  Luz6n ; 
Jesuits,  Visayas,  Luzon,  Mindanao  ;  Recollects,  Visayas,  Mindanao  ;  Franciscans, 
Samar,  Leyte,  Bohol. 

3  Decree  of  Anda,  October  26,  1771  (A.  G.  de  I.,  106-4-21). 

4  Santos  y  Rufina  to  Anda,  October  23,  1771  (ibid.). 

6  General  Order  to  Alcaldes  Mayores,  December  24,  1771  (ibid.). 


234 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


about  the  displacement  of  the  regulars  by  the  seculars  resulted  in 
a  very  distinct  reversal  of  opinion  on  his  part  as  to  the  feasibility 
of  the  practice.  While  his  memorial  of  April  12,  17G8,  advocated 
it,  and  the  orders  of  1771,  above  cited,  showed  that  he  tried  to 
enforce  it,  the  intervening  five  years  of  struggle  against  the  regu¬ 
lars  convinced  him  that  both  visitation  and  secularization  were  im¬ 
practicable.  From  1771  to  1776  the  king  had  been  beset  by  vigor¬ 
ous  protests  from  the  procurators  and  provincials  of  the  various 
orders  and  other  religious  authorities.  He  had  received,  also, 
from  time  to  time,  accounts  of  their  side  of  the  struggle  by  Arch¬ 
bishop  Santos  y  Rufina  and  Governor  Anda. 

On  December  11,  1776,  a  royal  decree  was  issued  abrogating 
that  of  November  9,  1774,  “which  had  ordered  the  secularization 
of  the  parishes  held  by  the  regulars,  and  their  subjection  to  epis¬ 
copal  visitation,  and  that  they  be  subject  to  the  laws  of  the  royal 
patronage.”  This  new  decree  was  issued,  so  stated  its  preamble, 
largely  on  the  recommendations  of  Governor  Anda  and  Archbishop 
Santos  y  Rufina.  “They  had  tried  to  put  into  execution  the 
foregoing  decree  under  the  laws  of  the  royal  patronage,  but  the 
difficulties  of  its  enforcement  has  convinced  His  Majesty  that  its 
continuance  would  not  be  convenient  to  the  service  of  God,  .  .  . 
as  there  are  not  enough  Spanish  seculars  in  the  Islands,  and  the 
weak  morals,  and  the  general  incompetence  of  the  native  clergy 
being  well  known,  it  is  advisable  to  leave  the  jurisdiction  in  the 
hands  of  the  regulars.”  1  It  was  commanded  that  in  all  other 
respects  the  royal  patronage  should  be  observed  by  the  regulars, 
curates,  and  parish  priests,  and  that  as  fast  as  duly  qualified  secu¬ 
lars  should  arrive  in  the  Islands  they  should  be  installed  in  cura¬ 
cies  heretofore  held  by  regulars. 

The  efforts  of  Archbishop  Santos  y  Rufina  and  Governor  Anda 
were  practically  the  last  that  were  made  to  enforce  episcopal 
visitation  and  governmental  inspection  over  the  regulars.  From 
that  time  onward  it  was  generally  conceded  that  secularization 
was  undesirable,  in  that  it  amounted,  in  the  absence  of  the  Spanish 
seculars,  to  putting  immature  and  immoral  native  priests  in  charge 
of  the  parishes;  men  who  had  a  low  conception  of  what  religion 
stood  for,  and  whose  influence  was  not  only  morally  bad,  but  who 
1  Cidula  of  December  11,  1776  (A.  G.  de  I.,  105-2-9  and  106-4-31). 


ECCLESIASTICAL  VISITATION  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  235 


were  politically  insubordinate  as  well.  The  regulars  were  quite 
generally  left  in  charge  of  the  parishes ;  they  retained  them  until 
the  end  of  the  Spanish  administration  of  the  Islands,  and  it  seems 
that  the  government  in  the  nineteenth  century  increasingly  fa¬ 
vored  the  friars.1 

This  changed  policy  toward  the  regulars,  their  retention  of 
the  parishes,  and  the  question  of  visitation,  may  be  illustrated 
by  a  number  of  subsequent  occurrences.  On  April  6,  1778,  the 
king  reprimanded  the  audiencia  for  having  rendered  a  decision 
which  was  contrary  to  the  interests  of  the  orders  in  the  matter 
of  episcopal  visitation.2  The  audiencia,  it  seems,  had  taken  no 
cognizance  of  the  decree  of  December  11,  1776,  but  had  approved 
the  contention  of  an  ecclesiastical  ordinary  that  he  had  the  right 
to  enforce  diocesan  visitation  upon  the  regulars  who  were  hold¬ 
ing  parishes  in  his  province.  On  another  occasion  (in  1778)  the 
audiencia  acted  more  nearly  in  harmony  with  the  new  govern¬ 
mental  policy.  On  the  death  of  a  certain  Augustinian  friar,  who 
for  several  years  had  occupied  a  certain  parish,  the  provincial 
of  the  order  had  appointed  another  Augustinian  to  take  his  place. 
This  act  was  opposed  by  the  archbishop,  who  appealed  the  case 
to  the  audiencia,  and  that  body,  in  acuerdo  with  the  vice-patron, 
decided  in  favor  of  the  Augustinians,  “because  of  the  great  ad¬ 
vantage  which  must  follow  from  the  administration  of  the  cura¬ 
cies  by  Europeans  instead  of  Sangley  mestizos  and  native  priests.”  3 
The  decree  of  the  king,  issued  September  17,  1778,  approved  the 
act  of  the  audiencia  and  ordered  that  no  change  should  be  made 
in  the  status  of  the  regulars  and  of  the  curacies  as  established  by 
the  decree  of  December  11,  1776.4 

In  the  same  spirit  was  the  act  of  Governor  Aguilar,  who,  in 
1804,  had  authorized  the  appointment  of  regulars  to  the  vacant 
parishes  of  Santa  Rosa,  Imus,  and  Las  Pinas.  The  dean  and 
cabildo  appealed  to  the  audiencia,  and  the  governor,  in  justifying 
himself  before  that  body  and  the  king,  pointed  out  that  “the 

1  It  may  be  said,  in  fact,  that  the  policy  of  the  Spanish  government  in  favor¬ 
ing  the  retention  of  the  parishes  by  the  regulars,  and  thereby  excluding  the  native 
secular  clergy,  was  the  prime  cause  of  the  Philippine  insurrection.  The  instigations 
of  the  native  clergy  did  much  toward  inciting  their  countrymen  to  rebellion. 

2  CSdula  of  April  6,  1778  (A.  G.  de  I.,  106-4-21). 

3  There  were  but  six  native  priests  holding  curacies  at  this  time.  Testimony  of 
Decree  of  September  17,  1778  (A.  G.  de  I.,  106-4-21). 

*  Ibid. 


236 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


strongest  argument  against  the  surrender  of  the  parishes  to  the 
native  priests  [was]  the  fact  that  the  latter  [were]  little  more  than 
barbarians,  and  not  at  all  fit  to  occupy  the  districts.”  1  The 
regulars,  he  said,  were  of  a  higher  order,  and  the  effect  of  their 
presence  would  be  as  it  had  always  been,  to  hold  the  natives  to 
a  higher  level  and  to  keep  them  from  reverting  to  barbarism. 
Aside  from  illustrating  the  changed  policy  of  the  government 
toward  the  friars,  this  incident  brings  to  light  the  real  reason  for 
the  abandonment  of  the  parishes  in  the  Philippines  to  the  regu¬ 
lars,  namely  the  inefficient  and  corrupt  state  of  the  native  clergy. 

The  decree  of  June  8,  1826,  dealt  the  final  and  decisive  blow 
to  the  native  clergy.  The  preamble  to  this  enactment  stated 
that  “in  view  of  the  petitions  of  the  captain-general,  audiencia, 
the  ayuntamiento  and  the  archbishop  of  Manila,  pointing  out  the 
need  of  preference  of  Spanish  priests,  and  the  fact  that  [at  that 
time  there  were]  several  vacant  parishes  belonging  to  the  Augustin- 
ians  and  other  orders,  which  it  [was]  necessary  to  fill,  in  view  of 
the  high  character  of  the  services  rendered  by  the  members  of 
those  orders,  they  should  be  restored  to  the  administration  of  the 
curacies,  doctrinas,  and  parishes  which  they  had  occupied  previous 
to  the  issuance  of  the  decree  of  November  9,  1774,  and  neither 
the  vice-patron  nor  any  diocesan  shall  proceed  further  to  the 
secularization  of  any  curacy  without  express  royal  orders.”  This, 
the  decree  stated  further,  should  not  be  interpreted  as  a  disparage¬ 
ment  of  the  secular  clergy  or  in  deprivation  of  anything  which 
they  might  at  that  time  hold. 2 

In  view  of  the  foregoing,  it  may  be  said  that  the  audiencia 
performed  a  very  distinctive  duty  in  the  enforcement  of  episcopal 
visitation  when  the  principle  was  insisted  upon.  The  chief 
function  of  the  audiencias  was  that  of  a  court  to  which  the  prelates 
and  authorities  interested  or  desirous  of  enforcing  the  principle 
might  appeal  for  support  and  assistance.  The  audiencia  could 
and  did  legalize  the  acts  of  the  archbishop  by  finding  them  to 
be  in  harmony  with  the  royal  decrees  which  had  been  promulgated 
in  favor  of  the  principle.  The  audiencia  was  also  utilized  as  a 
court  of  refuge  by  the  dissenting  friars,  and,  on  more  than  one 


1  Aguilar  to  the  King,  September  25,  1804  (M.  and  V.,  vol.  2,  p.  362). 

2  Decree  of  June  8,  1826  (A.  G.  de  I.,  106-4-21). 


ECCLESIASTICAL  VISITATION  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  237 


occasion,  as  has  been  noted,  they  were  protected,  while  the  ordinary 
was  restrained  by  the  injunction  of  the  audiencia.  The  latter, 
in  rendering  decisions  in  the  matter,  presumably  based  its  action 
on  the  most  recent  royal  cedulas  or  decrees,  and  the  latter  differed 
with  time  and  circumstances,  depending  much  on  the  prevailing 
policy  of  the  government,  which  was  not  always  consistent. 

It  has  been  emphasized,  also,  that  local  conditions  contributed 
toward  determining  the  character  of  the  support  rendered  by  the 
audiencia.  During  the  latter  months  of  the  Pardo  controversy, 
when  the  magistrates  were  imprisoned  or  exiled  by  the  irate  ordi¬ 
nary,  the  decision  of  the  tribunal  had  little  weight ;  in  Camacho’s 
tune,  when  the  friars  were  on  the  point  of  leaving  the  Islands 
rather  than  submit,  the  audiencia  and  the  governor  counseled 
moderation,  and  completely  abandoned  the  archbishop ;  during 
Anda’s  term  of  office  the  struggle  was  similarly  abandoned,  though 
for  different  reasons,  and  all  the  subsequent  decisions  of  the 
audiencia  in  cases  that  were  appealed  to  it  were  in  favor  of  the 
regulars.  This  attitude  was  determined  partly  by  state  policy 
and  partly  by  practical  considerations.  The  magistrates  of 
the  audiencia  likewise  rendered  invaluable  service  in  imparting 
legal  advice  to  the  vice-patron,  the  ordinaries,  and  others  in¬ 
terested.  They  also  kept  the  Court  informed  as  to  what  was 
actually  going  on  in  the  colony.  It  may  be  seen,  therefore, 
that  the  audiencia  participated  in  a  great  variety  of  ways  in  the 
enforcement  of  episcopal  visitation.  It  was  primarily  a  court  of 
appeal  and  it  was  also  an  agent  of  the  royal  patron,  and  in  these 
capacities  its  influence  was  greatest.  It  also  exercised  functions 
of  an  advisory  character,  in  aiding  the  authorities  concerned  to 
ascertain  their  just  rights  according  to  the  existing  law. 


THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES 
UNDER  SPAIN  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES 


David  P.  Barrows 

In  the  organization  of  the  office  of  chief  executive  of  great 
colonial  dependencies  is  involved  a  political  problem  of  first  mag¬ 
nitude.  The  responsibilities  of  the  government  of  an  alien  race, 
often  permeated  with  discontent  and  difficult  to  control,  require 
the  deposit  in  the  local  executive  of  great  and  impressive  powers, 
but  there  must  be  assurance  that  these  powers  will  be  exercised 
in  subordination  to  the  will  of  the  home  government  and  in  ac¬ 
cord  with  standards  of  humane  and  enlightened  policy.  Public 
opinion  in  a  dependency  cannot  be  relied  upon  for  control  and  is 
always  characterized  by  moods  of  hostility.  Public  opinion,  and 
frequently  official  opinion  in  the  metropolitan  country,  is  usually 
ill-informed  and  incapable  of  imagination.  The  history  of  certain 
of  these  great  officers  like  the  viceroy  of  India,  or  the  governor-gen¬ 
eral  of  Netherlands-India  or  French  Indo-China,  perfectly  illus¬ 
trates  the  dilemma.  It  exhibits  both  the  abuses  of  entrusting 
undisciplined  authority  to  officers  imperfectly  responsible,  and 
also  the  spectacle  of  rare  capacity  made  impotent  by  a  superior 
control  that  was  distrustful,  jealous,  and  incapable  of  allowing 
adequate  discretion. 

Of  the  several  impressive  offices  of  this  character  still  existent 
in  the  modern  world,  not  the  least  in  importance  and  the  oldest 
in  point  of  history  is  under  the  sovereignty  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  recurring  problem  of  its  organization,  which  baffled  Span¬ 
ish  political  effort  for  more  than  three  centuries,  now  occupies  the 
attention  of  American  statesmanship.  The  governorship  of  the 
Philippines,  in  the  seventeen  years  of  American  rule,  has  passed 
through  several  forms  and  its  further  reorganization  awaits  the 
attention  of  the  present  Congress  of  the  United  States.  It  seems 

238 


THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES  239 


clear  that  such  a  problem  of  administration  can  be  intelligently 
solved  only  by  proper  regard  for  the  history  of  the  institution  and 
the  place  that  it  has  occupied  in  the  good  and  evil  fortunes  of  the 
archipelago. 

The  office  of  governor  and  captain-general  of  the  Philippines 
was  created  by  royal  cedula  of  King  Philip  II  in  1567,  immediately 
upon  receipt  of  news  of  the  successful  occupation  of  the  archipelago, 
and  was  conferred  upon  the  adelantado  and  conqueror  of  the 
islands,  Don  Miguel  Lopez  de  Legazpi.  For  the  space  of  two 
hundred  years  it  underwent  little  development,  but  continued 
to  illustrate  perhaps  more  admirably  than  any  other  similar 
position  in  the  Spanish  colonial  empire  the  typical  character  and 
vicissitudes  of  the  institution.  Then  toward  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century  it  shared  in  those  important  administrative 
changes  which,  in  America,  are  associated  with  the  work  of 
Galvez.  It  entered  on  a  third  phase  of  its  history  after  the  loss 
of  the  Spanish-American  empire  and  from  about  1840  down  to 
1897  was,  together  with  the  whole  body  of  colonial  administration, 
the  object  of  constant  solicitude  and  modification.  This  period  is 
most  instructive  because  it  exhibits  a  great  office  facing  the  modern 
difficulties  of  colonial  government,  and  after  decades  of  contest 
ending  in  failure  to  sustain  the  sovereignty  of  Spain. 

Continued  under  American  occupation,  the  governor-generalship 
of  the  Philippines  exists  to-day  as  one  of  the  disturbing  but  great 
and  magnetic  positions  upon  which  depend  the  efforts  of  the 
white  race  to  control  the  political  future  of  tropical  peoples.  It 
is  proposed  in  this  paper  to  view  this  office  in  outline  in  its  several 
periods  and  then  to  offer  some  reflections  based  on  a  comparison 
of  Spanish  and  American  experience. 

The  office  was  created  on  the  model  which  had  originated  in 
Spain  and  been  worked  out  in  the  New  World.  Seventy-three 
years  intervened  between  the  first  voyage  of  Columbus  and 
the  definite  occupation  of  the  Philippines,  and  in  this  period 
the  Spaniards  had  had  some  exceptionally  severe  lessons  and 
gained  much  hard  experience  in  colonial  empire.  This  American 
experience  was  behind  the  Philippine  conquest  and  deter¬ 
mined  its  character.  The  institutions  whereby  Spain  for  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  governed  her  vast  empire  were  carried 


240 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


as  a  nearly  completed  system  to  the  Philippines.  A  great  body 
of  law  defining  the  powers  and  relations  of  colonial  officers  already 
existed  and  was  put  into  effect  in  the  new  possession.  Thus  the 
Philippines  were  spared  a  repetition  of  the  periods  of  extravagant 
waste  of  life  and  accompanying  disorder  that  fill  the  early  pages 
of  the  history  of  most  Spanish-American  colonies.  The  list  of 
governors  exhibits  not  a  few  who  were  weak  and  inept,  but  no 
Ovando  or  Pedrarias. 

During  the  period  of  conquest  and  settlement  of  the  Philippines, 
America  was  relied  on  to  supply  most  of  the  governors.  Not  a 
few  had  been  developed  in  those  remarkable  training  schools  of 
colonial  officials,  the  audiencias  of  the  new  world.  The  adelan- 
tado  Legazpi,  a  model  of  courage,  prudence  and  humane  moder¬ 
ation,  was  appointed  to  lead  the  expedition  that  effected  the 
conquest  from  the  post  of  escribano  mayor  and  alcalde  ordinario  of 
Mexico;  Sande  (1575-80)  was  an  oidor  of  the  audiencia  of  New 
Spain,  and  Gonzalo  Ronquillo  (1580-83)  and  Don  de  Vera  (1584- 
90),  officials  of  the  same  government.  Bravo  de  Acuna  (1602-06) 
had  been  governor  of  Cartagena,  Hurtado  de  Corcuera  (1635- 
44)  governor  of  Panama,  Manrique  de  Lara  (1653-1663)  Castellano 
of  Acapulco,  and  Torre  Campo  (1721-29)  governor  of  Guatemala. 
There  can  be  no  question  of  the  immense  value  to  the  government 
in  the  Philippines  of  the  long  training  of  these  men  in  the  Ameri¬ 
can  service. 

Another  field  of  promotion  to  the  post  of  Philippine  governor 
was  the  army  in  Flanders.  Between  1609  and  1678  at  least  six 
governors,  Juan  de  Silva  (1609-16),  Fajardo  de  Tenza  (1615-24), 
Nino  de  Tabora  (1626-32),  Salcedo  (1663-1668),  a  native  of 
Brussels,  Manuel  de  Leon  (1669-77),  a  hero  of  Lutzen  and  Nord- 
lingen,  and  Vargas  Hurtado  (1678-84),  were  appointed  from 
Spanish  armies  serving  in  the  Low  Countries.  Several  of  these 
men  were  nobles  or  members  of  distinguished  orders.  To  the 
intrepid  and  ambitious  soldiers  and  lawyers  of  that  day  the  Philip¬ 
pine  appointment  unquestionably  appeared  an  opportunity  for 
audacious  service  in  the  East,  and  a  stepping-stone  to  higher  re¬ 
wards  in  the  great  offices  of  the  New  World,  but  the  vast  distance, 
the  hardships  of  the  long  voyage,  the  tropical  disease  that  assailed 
so  many,  and  the  bitter  trials  of  the  office  itself  all  but  rarely  wore 


THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES  241 


out  these  men  and  hardly  one  returned.  Few,  indeed,  like  Man- 
rique  de  Lara  were  able  to  endure  a  long  term  of  service  (in  his 
case  the  unprecedented  period  of  ten  years),  endure  the  perse¬ 
cutions  of  a  severe  residencia  and  return  to  Spain  to  die  of  old  age 
in  his  native  Malaga.  To  most  the  Philippine  appointment  was 
the  end. 

The  selection  of  the  governor  was  personally  made  by  the  king 
from  a  list  of  officers  proposed  by  the  Council  of  the  Indies.  When 
Nino  de  Tabora  was  appointed,  not  less  than  thirteen  names  were 
proposed,  including  one  man,  de  Vivero,  who  had  served  an  ad 
interim  appointment  as  Philippine  governor  and  returned  to  the 
governorship  of  Panama.1  To  read  the  terse  dossiers  of  these 
nominees  is  to  see  outlined  in  a  few  pages  the  adventurous  lives 
of  the  Spanish  conquerors  of  the  New  World  and  the  wide  field  of 
services  presented  by  Spain’s  amazing  empire.  The  appointment 
was  set  for  eight  years  but,  in  case  the  governor  survived,  it  some¬ 
times  extended  to  nine  or  ten.  The  average  duration  of  office, 
however,  was  low  and  drew  frequent  unfavorable  comment,  es¬ 
pecially  when  contrasted  with  the  long  periods  of  service  of  the 
dignitaries  of  the  church. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  and  most  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  when  Spanish  national  life  sank  after  the 
exhausting  efforts  of  wars  and  conquest,  emigration  to  the  islands 
nearly  ceased,  and  commercial  restrictions  checked  economic 
development,  torpor  succeeded  the  intense  energy  of  an  earlier 
time.  In  this  situation  the  governorship  was  repeatedly  conferred 
upon  the  Archbishop  of  Manila  or  one  of  the  several  prelates. 
After  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  governor  of  the 
Philippines  was  nearly  always  a  military  or  naval  officer  of  high  rank. 

In  the  beginning,  the  Philippines  were  regarded  as  an  outpost 
for  further  eastern  conquests ;  the  Spice  Islands,  the  coasts  of 
Siam  and  Indo-China  were  all  essayed  by  Spanish  expeditions, 
and  designs  of  conquest  of  Japan  and  China  filled  the  feverish 
brain  of  some  of  these  daring  exiles.  But  the  sparse  population 
of  the  archipelago,  less  than  a  million  natives  and  a  few  hundred 
Spaniards,  the  insufficiency  of  revenues,  and  the  enormous  difficul- 

*“  Report  of  the  Spanish'Couneil  of  State  on  the  appointment  of  a  governor  of 
the  Philippines,”  1625.  Blair  and  Robertson,  The  Philippine  Islands,  vol.  22,  p.  27. 

R 


242 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


ties  of  Pacific  transport  eventually  enforced  a  policy  of  economy 
and  extreme  simplicity  of  administration.  The  governor  repre¬ 
sented  the  all-embracing  authority  of  the  king.  He  was  gov¬ 
ernor  of  the  civil  administration,  appointed  the  provincial  chiefs, 
or  alcaldes  mayores,  and  except  where  these  officers  received  royal 
appointments,  the  other  administrative  officials.  As  civil  head 
he  sent  and  received  embassies  from  the  countries  of  the  East 
and  made  peace  and  war.  As  captain-general  he  commanded  all 
the  armed  forces  in  the  colony,  equipped  fleets  to  invade  the  Mo¬ 
luccas  or  repel  the  pirates  of  Mindanao,  built  or  repaired  the  for¬ 
tifications  of  Manila  and  the  naval  yard  of  Cavite,  and  built 
and  despatched  the  Acapulco  galleon,  eventually  the  sole  com¬ 
munication  with  Mexico  and  Spain.  The  perilous  situation  of 
the  colony,  the  menace  of  China  and  Japan,  the  struggle  for  the 
Moluccas,  the  centuries  of  Malay  piracy  and  the  incursions  of 
the  Dutch  gave  great  prominence  to  the  military  responsibilities 
and  the  functions  of  the  governor  as  captain-general.  He  had  full 
responsibility  for  the  revenues,  nominated  to  encomiendas  until 
these  grants  disappeared  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  estab¬ 
lished  the  estancos  or  government  monopolies.  He  allotted  the 
boletas  or  tickets  entitling  the  holder  to  cargo  space  on  the  Aca¬ 
pulco  galleon,  an  economic  privilege  of  vast  importance  to  the 
colony.  As  vice-patron  and  representative  of  the  king,  he  nomi¬ 
nated  to  church  benefices  and  controlled  the  financial  support  of 
the  missions.  For  the  discharge  of  these  numerous  services  he 
had  relatively  few  assistants.  A  royal  treasurer,  an  accountant, 
a  factor,  the  fiscal  of  the  audiencia,  a  teniente  del  rey,  who  com¬ 
manded  the  military  plaza  of  Manila,  and  the  field  marshal 
and  captains  of  his  army  were  the  usual  officers.  The  audiencia, 
definitely  established  in  1595,  served  both  as  a  supreme  court  with 
civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction  and  as  an  administrative  and  leg¬ 
islative  commission.  Of  this  body  the  governor  was  president 
until  1844,  and  his  relations  to  it  form  an  interesting  study. 

The  policy  of  Spain  was  to  make  the  office  of  governor  one  of 
impressive  dignity.  He  was  the  personal  representative  of  the 
king  and,  so  far  as  the  slender  resources  of  Manila  permitted,  lived 
in  state.  The  official  ceremonies  attending  his  arrival  and  in¬ 
duction  into  office  were  elaborately  prescribed.  A  guard  of  hal- 


THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES  243 


berdiers  attended  him  when  he  walked  abroad,1  and  a  mounted 
escort  when  he  rode.  These  formalities,  however  inconsistent 
with  the  actual  resources  of  the  position,  were  highly  esteemed  by 
the  Spaniards.  The  complaint  filed  by  the  audiencia  with  the 
king  against  the  governor,  Tello  de  Guzman,  in  1598,  has  mainly 
to  do  with  his  offense  of  attending  a  meeting  of  that  body  in  a 
short,  colored  coat  and  a  hat  with  plumes.2 

While  encouraging  and  abetting  the  heroic  enterprises  of  her 
expatriated  sons,  Spain  early  sought  to  provide  balances  and 
restrictions  upon  their  overtopping  ambitions.  These  attempted 
limitations  can  perhaps  nowhere  be  better  studied  than  in  the  his¬ 
tory  of  the  Philippines,  where  the  remoteness  of  the  colony  and 
the  difficulty  of  supervision  occasioned  situations  of  the  most 
sensational  character.  Some  of  the  practices  used  as  checks  by 
the  Spanish  government  would  not  be  approved  by  the  more 
advanced  experience  of  the  present  day,  but  they  are  at  least  char¬ 
acteristic  of  the  thought  of  the  period,  which  was  singularly  dis¬ 
trustful,  and  counted  no  public  servant  too  loyal  or  exalted  to  be 
watched  and  restrained. 

In  the  first  place,  Spanish  officialdom  encouraged  direct  re¬ 
port  on  the  policy  and  character  of  the  governor  from  subordinate 
officials  and  from  the  ecclesiastical  administration.  From  the 
foundation  of  the  colony  at  Manila  other  royal  officials  than  the 
governor  wrote  directly  to  the  king.  Of  the  first  expedition  to 
settle  the  Philippines,  Legazpi,  the  treasurer,  Lavezaris,  and  the 
factor,  Mirandaola,  all  wrote  independently  to  Philip  II.  The 
fiscal,  Ayala,  in  1589,  wrote  expressing  complaints  both  of  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  administration.  The  ayuntamiento  of  Manila  in 
1601  registered  its  complaints  against  the  oidor  and  lieutenant- 
governor,  Dr.  Antonio  Morga.  A  letter  of  Bishop  Santibanez 
of  1598  informs  the  king  that  Governor  Tello  de  Guzman  had 
called  together  all  the  honorable  people,  even  to  the  master  of 
camp,  and  all  the  captains,  and  while  they  stood  bare-headed, 
berated  them  worse  than  he  would  his  cobbler:  “You  do  not 
realize  that  I  can  have  all  your  heads  cut  off,  and  you  think  that 

1  The  antique  halberds  of  this  guard,  which  was  suppressed  in  1868,  were  part 
of  the  military  trophies  of  the  American  army  after  the  capture  of  Manila.  The 
writer  saw  a  number  of  them  then. 

1  “Report  of  the  Audiencia  on  the  conduct  of  Tello,”  B.  and  R.,  vol.  10,  p.  183. 


244 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


I  do  not  know  that  you  have  written  to  the  king  against  me.” 
“Your  majesty,”  says  the  bishop  in  this  letter,  “should  not  in¬ 
quire  into  the  particular  vices  of  Don  Francisco  Tello,  but  should 
picture  to  yourself  the  universal  idea  of  all  vices  brought  to  the 
utmost  degree  and  placed  in  a  lawyer.  If  one  were  to  seek  faith¬ 
fully  over  all  Spain  for  a  man  of  most  debauched  conscience,  even 
the  vilest  and  most  vicious  to  come  to  this  country  and  corrupt 
it  with  his  example,  there  could  not  be  found  one  more  so  than  he.”1 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  Council  of  the  Indies  or  the  king 
followed  the  practice  of  acquainting  the  governor  with  these  at¬ 
tacks  upon  his  policy  or  his  character,  nor  do  they  appear  to  have 
been  moved  thereby  to  any  decisive  action,  but  we  must  suppose 
that  they  had  their  effect  in  creating  distrust  at  the  Spanish  court, 
undermining  its  confidence  in  the  governor  and  weakening  the 
loyal  support  of  his  efforts.  Modern  administration  follows  the 
principle  of  requiring  official  correspondence  between  the  gov¬ 
ernment  of  a  dependency  and  the  home  authorities  to  proceed 
within  the  cognizance  of  the  chief  executives  of  the  dependency, 
and  present-day  standards  of  loyalty  and  of  subordination  forbid 
irresponsible  criticism,  but  Spain  proceeded  upon  the  different 
principle  of  setting  subordinates  to  watch  their  superiors,  and 
trusted  to  jealousy,  pique  and  self-interest  to  expose  the  deficien¬ 
cies  or  corrupt  character  of  those  set  in  authority. 

The  legitimate  balance  upon  the  authority  of  the  governor 
was  the  audiencia.  The  Audiencia  of  Manila  was  created  on  the 
model  of  the  American  audiencias,  and  was  the  tenth  to  be  estab¬ 
lished  by  the  Spanish  government  in  their  organization  of  empire.2 
It  was  first  erected  in  1584  under  the  presidency  of  the  governor, 
Dr.  Santiago  de  Vera,  but  was  suppressed,  largely  for  reasons  of 
economy,  in  1590,  and  reestablished  in  1598  by  a  royal  decree 
dated  November  26,  1595.  On  the  vacancy  of  the  office  of  gov¬ 
ernor  the  audiencia  regularly  assumed  the  duties  of  the  position, 
the  direction  of  military  affairs  being  confided  to  the  maestre  de 
campo,  or  more  usually  to  one  member  of  the  audiencia.3  It  had 
the  power  to  grant  encomiendas  of  Indians  if  the  governor  neglected 

1  Blair  and  Robertson,  The  Philippine  Islands,  vol.  10,  pp.  146,  147. 

3  Recopilacidn  de  Leyes  de  las  Indias.  Libro  2,  tit.  15,  ley  11. 

3  Recop.,  vol.  2,  pp,  15,  57,  58. 


THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES  245 


this  duty.  It  reported  annually  on  the  operation  of  local  gov¬ 
ernment  and  was  a  board  for  the  audit  of  accounts,  and  for  the 
taking  of  the  residencia  of  subordinate  officials.1  Sitting  as  a 
chamber  of  “royal  consent”  ( sola  de  real  acuerdo)  it  consulted 
upon  matters  of  government  and  administration  and  participated 
in  the  enactment  of  local  ordinances.  Such  a  resolution  was 
called  an  auto  acordado.2  It  also  discharged  certain  commissions 
such  as  the  management  of  the  praedial  tithes,  the  public  lands, 
temporalities,  and  the  fondos  de  Agana,  which  seem  to  have  been 
funds  for  the  support  of  the  establishment  in  the  Marianas  Islands 
or  the  Ladrones.3  It  appears  to  have  been  usually  in  accord  with 
the  governor  both  in  support  of  his  general  policy  and  in  the 
interminable  and  disastrous  disputes  which  arose  between  the 
governors  and  the  ecclesiastical  authorities.1 

It  was  the  church  that  constituted  the  real  check  upon  the  power 
of  the  governor  of  the  Philippines.  The  conflicts  which  arose 
between  the  governors  and  the  archbishops  of  Manila  were  never 
resolutely  dealt  with  by  the  Spanish  crown,  nor  were  the  causes 
of  enmity  settled.  The  result  was  an  obvious  impairment  of 
authority  which  nearly  brought  the  colony  to  ruin.  The  struggle 
first  became  acute  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
under  Governor  Sebastian  Hurtado  de  Corcuera.  No  Philippine 
governor  of  the  seventeenth  century  more  impresses  the  imagination 
than  this  active  and  valiant  man,  about  whose  character  a  tempest 
of  argument  has  waged.  He  dealt  the  Moros  of  Mindanao  the  heavi¬ 
est  blow  that  these  pirates  were  to  receive  until  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  but  his  rule  is  also  associated  with  the  loss  of 
Formosa  and  of  the  Portuguese  colony  of  Macao.  When  relieved 
by  his  successor  in  1G44  he  was  subjected  to  bitter  charges  by  his 

1  A  brief  but  clear  account  of  the  functions  of  the  Audiencia  of  Manila  and  its 
relations  with  the  governor  is  given  by  the  oidor  Dr.  Antonio  de  Morga  in  his  Sucesos 
de  las  Islas  Filipinas,  first  published  in  Mexico  City  in  1609.  Writing  from  his 
own  experience  Morga  states  that  the  governor  attended  privately  to  all  that  re¬ 
lated  to  war  and  government  with  the  advice  of  the  oidores  in  difficult  matters ; 
that  he  tried  the  criminal  offenses  of  regular  paid  soldiers,  but  that  these  had  a  right 
of  appeal  to  the  Audiencia ;  that  he  sat  with  the  Audiencia  for  the  trial  of  civil  and 
criminal  cases  and  together  with  this  body  provided  what  was  necessary  for  the 
administration  of  finances  (edition  by  W.  E.  Retana,  Madrid,  1909,  p.  222)  ;  that 
the  Audiencia  each  year  audited  the  accounts  of  the  royal  officials  and  after  balanc¬ 
ing  them  sent  them  to  the  “tribunal  of  accounts”  at  Mexico  (ibid.,  p.  224). 

2  See  Coleccidn  de  Autos  Acordados  de  la  Real  ChancilleHa  de  Filipinas  (5  vols., 
Manila,  1861-66). 

3  J.  de  la  Rosa,  “La  Administracion  Publica  en  Filipinas”  in  La  Polltica  de 
Espafia  en  Filipinas,  v ol.  3,  p.  115. 


246 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


opponents  in  his  residencia,  and  for  five  years  was  held  a  prisoner 
in  the  fortresses  of  Santiago  and  Cavite.  “A  strange  turn  of 
fortune!”  exclaims  a  contemporary  writer,  the  Dominican  Friar 
Navarrete,  “  Don  Sebastian  had  been  the  most  absolute  and  the 
most  dreaded  lord  in  the  world!”  The  conflict  between  priest 
and  soldier  long  continued.  Governor  Diego  de  Salcedo  in  1668 
was  made  a  prisoner  by  the  Commissioner  of  the  Inquisition  and 
died  at  sea  while  being  sent  to  Mexico  for  trial.  Governor  Vargas 
Hurtado  (1678-84)  suffered  excommunication,  and  after  a  resi¬ 
dencia  of  four  years,  died  at  sea  on  the  way  to  Mexico.  The 
troubles  of  Governor  Bustamente  with  the  archbishop  and  the 
religious  orders  led  to  his  assassination  in  1719. 

The  residencia  was  a  peculiarly  Spanish  institution.  It  was 
the  trial  and  audit  of  accounts  of  an  official  at  the  end  of  his 
term  by  his  successor.  It  frequently  occupied  months  and  even 
years  of  time,  and  involved  a  retiring  executive  in  great  delay  and 
expense,  and  not  infrequently  in  heavy  penalties.  The  case  of 
Corcuera  has  already  been  referred  to,  and  some  of  his  successors 
were  hardly  more  fortunate. 

The  Italian  traveller  Gemelli  Careri,  who  visited  the  Philippines 
in  1697,  thus  recorded  his  impression  of  the  proceeding:  “This 
Grandeur  and  Power  [of  the  governor]  is  somewhat  eclips’d  by 
a  dreadful  Trial  the  wicked  People  of  Manila  make  their  governors 
go  through.  .  .  .  The  Accusers  have  60  Days  allow’d  them,  after 
Proclamation  made  through  the  Province,  to  bring  in  their  Com¬ 
plaints,  and  30  Days  to  Prosecute  before  the  Judge,  who  is  gen¬ 
erally  the  Successor  in  the  Government  by  Special  Commission 
from  the  King  and  his  Supream  Council  of  the  Indies.”  After 
citing  the  cases  of  Corcuera,  Fajardo  and  Manrique  de  Lara,  the 
last  of  whom,  after  a  life  of  extraordinary  adventure  ending  with 
his  residencia  at  Manila,  regained  his  native  land  to  die  in  orders, 
Gemelli  records :  “  In  short  since  the  Islands  were  Conquer’d,  no 
Governor  has  returned  to  Spain  but  he  and  one  more ;  for  all  of 
them  either  break  their  Hearts  at  their  Tryal  or  Dye  with  Hard¬ 
ship  by  the  way.  It  is  certain  this  Tryal  is  worth  one  hundred 
thousand  Crowns  to  the  new  governor  which  he  that  goes  off  must 
have  ready  to  come  off  well  in  this  dreadful  Tryal.”  1 

1  Churchill,  Collection  of  Voyages ,  vol.  4,  p.  411. 


THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES  247 


It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  the  prospect  of  this  bitter  experi¬ 
ence  awaiting  a  governor  at  the  termination  of  his  office  under¬ 
mined  his  courage  and  weakened  his  conduct  of  affairs. 

Besides  the  ordeal  of  the  residencia  the  government  of  the 
Philippines  was  occasionally  subjected  to  the  inspection  of  a 
visitador.  In  1631  the  oidor  Rojas  of  the  audiencia  of  Mexico  was 
sent  to  the  Philippines  in  this  capacity  and  suspended  the  oidores 
of  the  Manila  audiencia.  The  exact  relation  between  the  ad¬ 
ministration  of  the  Philippines  and  that  of  Mexico  and  the  degree 
of  control  exercised  by  the  latter  over  the  former  are  somewhat 
difficult  to  determine.  Theoretically  the  Philippines,  like  the 
captaincies-general  of  Yucatan  and  Guatemala,  were  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  viceroy  of  New  Spain.  The  viceroy,  or  some¬ 
times  the  audiencia  of  Mexico,  repeatedly  designated  the  ad 
interim  successor  to  a  governor  of  the  Philippines  until  the  ap¬ 
pointment  could  be  settled  by  the  king.  During  the  suspension 
of  the  Manila  audiencia  cases  were  regularly  appealed  to  the 
audiencia  at  Mexico  City.  The  commissioner  of  the  Inquisition 
in  the  Philippines  was  an  agent  of  the  Holy  Office  in  Mexico. 
All  communication  for  several  centuries  between  the  Philippines 
and  Spain  lay  through  the  Acapulco  galleon.  Mexico  was  relied 
upon  for  financial  and  military  support  and  for  an  annual  subsidy 
or  situado,  such  as  was  also  furnished  to  the  financially  weak 
governments  of  Venezuela,  Habana,  and  Yucatan.  Yet  the 
actual  degree  of  oversight  does  not  seem  to  have  been  great,  nor 
to  have  had  appreciable  influence  upon  the  conduct  of  Philippine 
affairs. 

The  Spanish  system  as  above  described  was  undeniably  fatal  to 
the  initiative,  independence,  and  vigor  of  her  Philippine  gover¬ 
nors.  Placed  in  a  difficult  situation,  distant  from  the  Spanish 
court  by  half  the  circumference  of  the  globe,  compelled  to  rely 
upon  Mexico  for  economic  support,  the  focus  of  jealousy  and  con¬ 
tention,  balked  by  ecclesiastical  rivals  and  civil  associates,  and 
conscious  of  the  grim  day  of  reckoning  at  the  end  of  their  terms, 
the  governors  of  the  Philippines  during  most  of  the  eighteenth 
century  sank  in  character,  and  their  achievements  were  too  futile 
to  be  recalled. 

The  task  of  reorganizing  and  reinvigorating  the  government  of 


248 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


the  Philippines  began  with  the  last  third  of  the  eighteenth  cen¬ 
tury,  and  continued  with  fluctuations  down  to  the  end  of  1898. 
The  higher  intelligence  of  the  nation  from  time  to  time  discerned 
the  weaknesses  of  the  organization  and  indicated  remedies,  but 
reforms  were  never  carried  through  with  completeness,  and  the 
end  was  revolt  and  disaster.  The  history  of  these  attempts  to 
modernize  the  Spanish  administration  of  the  Philippines  is 
most  instructive,  but  only  its  main  outlines  can  be  indicated 
here. 

The  capture  of  Manila  by  the  English  in  1762  aroused  the 
Spanish  government  to  the  appointment  and  support  of  governors 
of  ability,  among  them  Anda  y  Salazar  and  Basco  y  Vargas.  The 
latter,  who  placed  the  finances  of  the  Philippines  upon  an  inde¬ 
pendent  basis  through  the  establishment  of  the  tobacco  monopoly, 
and  who  did  something  to  encourage  agriculture  and  industries, 
was  also  responsible  for  introducing  into  the  administration  of 
the  Philippines  the  separation  of  governmental  and  financial  ad¬ 
ministration  which  had  been  effected  in  the  vice-royalties  of  Mexico 
and  Peru.  On  recommendation  of  Basco  there  was  issued  the  royal 
order  of  July  7,  1784,  creating  the  Intendency  of  the  Army  and  of 
Finance,  and  to  the  position  of  intendant  was  appointed  an  oidor 
of  the  audiencia,  Carvajal.  This  official  established  in  the  islands 
five  subordinate  intendancies  and  submitted  plans  for  the  fiscal 
and  agricultural  development  of  the  islands.  The  new  organi¬ 
zation,  however,  was  short  lived.  In  1787  the  superintendence  of 
finance,  by  royal  decree,  devolved  once  more  upon  the  governor 
and  captain-general.  The  modification  of  the  earlier  unspecialized 
centralization  of  authority  in  the  direction  of  segregating  financial 
administration  rested  upon  a  sufficiently  definite  theory  to  com¬ 
mend  itself  to  Spanish  authority,  and  after  a  half  century  of  ex¬ 
periment,  the  financial  administration  was  reorganized  as  the 
Intendencia  de  Hacienda.  The  governor  continued  to  be  the 
“superior  head”  of  this  branch,  but  the  immediate  direction  was 
confided  to  the  Intendente  General.1 

A  further  specialization  of  1861  deprived  the  governor-general 
of  his  judicial  powers.  At  the  same  time  the  audiencia  was  di¬ 
vested  of  its  administrative  and  consultative  functions  and  be- 
1  San  Pedro,  op.  cit.,  vol.  13,  p.  10. 


THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES  249 


came  simply  the  supreme  court  for  the  archipelago.1  With  this 
change  there  was  created  a  new  body  advisory  to  the  governor, 
known  as  the  Council  of  Administration  ( Consejo  de  Administra¬ 
tion),  made  up  of  high  officials,  civil,  military  and  ecclesiastic. 
An  inner  advisory  body  was  the  Board  of  Authorities  ( Junta  de 
Autoridades) .  The  principle  that  the  Spanish  sought  to  apply 
here  was  one  which  has  been  widely  used  in  the  colonial  admin¬ 
istration  of  the  French,  the  Dutch,  and  the  English,  namely,  to 
concentrate  executive  authority  in  a  single  person,  but  to  subject 
the  exercise  of  this  authority  to  the  expert  advice  of  responsible 
associates.  Expectations  of  the  usefulness  of  this  body  in  the 
Philippines  do  not  seem,  however,  to  have  been  realized,  and  at 
the  time  of  the  ending  of  its  existence  it  was  declared  a  useless 
organization.2  Its  last  assembling  took  place  in  the  city  of 
Manila  under  the  guns  of  Dewey’s  fleet  and  amidst  the  general 
apprehension  that  prevailed  on  that  occasion. 

Still  further  specialization  took  place  with  the  creation  of  a 
general  department  of  civil  administration.  The  conception  of 
this  reform  was  to  segregate  from  military  affairs  and  from  the 
determination  of  policy  the  execution  of  functions  having  to  do 
with  civil  service  and  with  the  development  of  the  islands,  the 
people  and  resources.  The  Direction  General  de  Administracidn 
Civil  was  decreed  as  early  as  1858, 3  but  actually  established  in 
1874,  and  the  position  of  director  was  occupied  in  the  last  decades 
of  Spanish  rule  by  a  number  of  men  who  made  a  distinct  impres¬ 
sion  upon  the  well-being  of  the  islands.  It  had  two  branches, 
Gobierno  and  Fomento,  and  embraced  the  bureaus  ( inspecciones ) 
of  mines,  forests,  public  works,  poor  relief,  sanitation  and  public 
instruction.  As  advisory  bodies  to  the  chiefs  of  these  bureaus 
there  were  formed  a  number  of  consultative  boards  on  the  prin¬ 
ciple  above  noted. 

In  case  of  death  or  absence  the  governor-general  was  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  a  general  next  in  command  of  the  military  forces, 
who  was  designated  the  Segundo  Cabo,  and  in  case  of  his  dis- 


1  San  Pedro,  op.  cit.,  vol.  7,  p.  38. 

*  See  the  testimony  of  Don  Cayetano  Arellano  before  the  Philippine  Commis¬ 
sion  in  1899.  Report  of  the  Philippine  Commission,  1900,  vol.  2,  p.  24. 

*  Berriz,  Diccionario  de  la  Administracidn  de  Filipinos,  Anuario  de  1888,  vol.  1, 
pp.  634-643,  San  Pedro,  op.  cit.,  vol.  1,  p.  134. 


250 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


ability  and  the  absence  of  another  army  officer,  of  general  rank, 
a  decree  of  1862  provided  that  the  government  should  be  exer¬ 
cised  by  the  naval  officer  in  command  of  the  Philippine  station.1 

With  the  awakening  of  new  interest  in  dependencies  ob¬ 
servable  in  the  last  half  century  of  the  Spanish  period,  and  with 
the  creation  in  1863  of  the  Minister io  de  Ultramar ,2  initiative  in 
legislation  seems  to  have  passed  to  the  officialdom  in  Spain.  This 
appears  to  have  been  increasingly  so  after  the  establishment  of 
steamship  connection  by  way  of  the  Suez  Canal  and  the  con¬ 
nection  of  Manila  by  telegraph  cable  with  the  government  at 
Madrid.  Before  this  period  the  development  of  the  Philippine 
administration  seems  to  have  been  largely  in  the  hands  of  the 
governors  at  Manila,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  government 
in  Spain ;  thus  the  governorship  of  Clavena  (1844-49)  was  char¬ 
acterized  by  the  initiation  of  many  reforms,  the  establishment  of 
new  provincial  governments,  the  bestowal  of  surnames  upon  the 
natives,  the  correction  of  the  calendar,  the  final  suppression  of 
piracy ;  and  his  proposals  seem  to  have  invariably  found  approval 
at  Madrid.  Probably  no  governor  after  Clavena  made  so  original 
an  impression  upon  the  islands. 

What  the  later  governors  did  effect,  however,  was  to  reflect 
the  changes  in  the  politics  of  Spain.  The  momentary  triumph 
of  liberal  politics  at  Madrid  meant  encouragement  to  the  aspira¬ 
tion  of  the  natives  of  the  Philippines,  frequently  to  be  followed 
by  the  adoption  of  a  conservative  policy  and  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  a  representative  of  reaction.  Thus  the  period  of  ad¬ 
vancement  and  reform  from  1880  to  1888,  represented  by  the 
“  liberal”  governors,  Primo  de  Rivera,  Jovellar  and  Terrero,  was 
followed  by  the  reactionary  rule  of  General  Valeriano  Weyler, 
1888-91,  whose  name  is  familiar  to  Americans  through  his  dis¬ 
astrous  government  of  Cuba,  and  who  exemplified  both  the  pos¬ 
sibilities  and  the  abuses  of  the  office  as  it  was  in  the  last  period 
of  its  existence.3 

One  final  point  must  be  made  in  estimating  the  character  of 
this  office  under  Spain,  and  this  was  the  jealous  reservation  by 
the  home  government  of  the  legislative  power.  Neither  in  the 


1  San  Pedro,  op.  cit.,  vol.  1,  p.  134.  2 Ibid..,  vol.  1,  p.  185. 

3  W.  E.  Retana,  Mando  del  General  Weyler  en  Filipinas  (Madrid,  1896). 


THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES  251 


Philippines  nor  in  the  Western  Hemisphere  was  there  ever  a  co¬ 
lonial  legislature  established  under  Spanish  authority.  The  great 
laws  and  decrees  of  the  Spanish  colonial  system  were  drafted  and 
promulgated  in  Spain.  This  impairment  of  legislative  respon¬ 
sibility  in  the  colony  had  its  undoubted  effect  in  retarding  and 
discouraging  the  progress  of  the  government,  and  giving  to  colonial 
laws  the  effect  of  detachment  from  the  actual  conditions  which 
they  were  meant  to  remedy.  In  spite  of  their  august  source  and 
the  solemnity  of  their  promulgation,  it  is  of  interest  to  note  how 
frequently  they  were  disregarded.  Morga,  writing  as  early  as 
1597,  states  frankly  that  royal  decrees  sent  to  the  Philippines  by 
His  Majesty  are  mostly  suspended  or  not  effectively  observed.1 
Indeed,  the  Spanish  authorities  at  Madrid  seemed  to  hesitate  to 
give  full  and  immediate  effect  to  their  determinations  and  to  have 
promoted  the  development  of  a  power  in  the  local  government  to 
suspend  or  limit  the  action  of  a  decree  pending  further  corre¬ 
spondence.2  This  power  of  the  cumplase,  as  it  came  to  be 
known,  was  sometimes  exercised  in  matters  of  extraordinary  sig¬ 
nificance.  Two  whole  “titles”  of  the  Civil  Code  promulgated  for 
the  Philippines  in  1889  were  suspended  and  the  greater  part  of 
the  Civil  Marriage  Act  of  1870  was  suppressed  by  the  governor- 
general.  The  radical  decree  of  Moret  transforming  the  Domini¬ 
can  University  of  Santo  Tomas  into  a  government  institution, 
which  threw  the  religious  orders  in  the  Philippines  into  consterna¬ 
tion,  was  entirely  withheld  from  publication  by  the  governor- 
general  and  never  went  into  force.  The  reform  law  of  local 
government,  the  “Maura  decree,”  3  was  made  effective  only  in 
certain  provinces  and  had  hardly  become  operative  when  the 
Spanish  system  fell  before  the  American  conquest  of  the  islands. 

The  city  of  Manila  was  captured  by  the  American  expeditionary 
forces  on  August  13,  1898,  and  on  the  following  day  terms  of 
capitulation  were  signed.  From  this  date  American  government 
in  the  Philippines  begins.  General  Wesley  Merritt,  commanding 
the  American  army,  issued  a  proclamation  announcing  the  es- 

1  See  “Report  of  Conditions,”  B.  and  R.,  vol.  10,  p.  81. 

2  This  discretion  was  recognized  very  early  by  the  Laws  of  the  Indies  and  re¬ 
ceived  a  late  interpretation  in  a  Royal  Order  of  1876.  Given  in  Berriz,  Diccionario , 
Annuario,  1888,  vol.  2,  p.  95. 

3  See  LeRoy,  Americans  in  the  Philippines,  vol.  1,  p.  43. 


252 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


tablishment  of  military  rule  and  assuring  the  Filipinos  of  pro¬ 
tection  and  guarantees.  It  was  published  in  accordance  with 
instructions  of  the  President  which  the  commanding  general 
brought.1  General  Arthur  McArthur  was  appointed  “provost 
marshal  general  and  civil  governor  of  Manila,”  and  other  officers 
were  detailed  to  necessary  administrative  positions. 

The  office  of  military  governor  covers  the  period  August  14, 
1898,  to  July  4,  1901.  It  was  filled  by  the  following  officers  of 
the  United  States  army :  Major-General  Wesley  Merritt,  for  the 
brief  period  Aug.  14-29,  1898,  Major-General  E.  S.  Otis, 
August  29,  1898  to  May  5,  1900,  and  Major-General  Arthur 
McArthur,  May  5,  1900  to  July  4,  1901.  The  powers  exercised 
by  these  military  governors  were  very  extensive  and  had  an  im¬ 
portant  influence  upon  the  subsequent  government  of  the  ar¬ 
chipelago.  Acting  under  authority  from  the  President  of  the 
United  States  and  in  the  absence  of  congressional  legislation,  the 
military  governors  exercised  a  most  liberal  legislative  power.  By 
proclamation  and  by  general  orders  they  continued  in  operation 
the  municipal  law  that  had  prevailed  under  the  Spanish  govern¬ 
ment,  reestablished  a  system  of  courts,  including  provost-courts 
and  the  supreme  court  or  audiencia,  and  for  the  trial  of  criminal 
offences  subsequently  established  a  system  of  military  commis¬ 
sions.2  Where  the  Spanish  law  was  believed  to  need  correction 
it  was  unhesitatingly  reformed.  An  entirely  new  code  of  criminal 
procedure,  introducing  into  the  jurisprudence  of  the  islands  the 
English  principles  of  search  warrants  and  the  writ  of  habeas  cor¬ 
pus,  was  promulgated  by  General  Order  No.  58,  April  23, 1900,  and 
is  still  the  law  of  criminal  procedure  for  the  archipelago.3  The 
law  of  civil  marriage,  which  had  long  been  a  question  of  intense 
political  and  ecclesiastical  controversy,  was  similarly  promul¬ 
gated.4  Under  military  supervision  municipal  governments  were 
set  up  and  first  one  and  subsequently  another  more  elaborate 
municipal  code  was  decreed.  Military  authority  put  into  prompt 
operation  provisional  tariff  laws  and  immigration  regulations, 

1  Senate  Document  208,  p.  85,  Report  of  General  Otis  for  1899,  p.  17. 

3  Report  of  Major-General  McArthur,  1901,  vol.  2,  pp.  42,  43. 

8  Printed  in  Public  haws  enacted  by  the  Philippine  Commission,  vol.  1,  p.  1082. 

4  General  Order  No.  68,  December  1899,  amended  by  General  Order  No  70, 
1900,  printed  in  Public  Laws  enacted  by  the  Philippine  Commission,  vol.  1,  p.  1078  ff. 


THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES  253 


which  excluded  the  Chinese  from  entrance  into  the  islands.  These 
latter  regulations  were  later  reformed  and  regulated  by  act  of 
Congress. 

It  was  quite  in  keeping  with  the  past  powers  of  the  position  and 
with  the  policy  long  followed  by  the  Spanish  governors  of  Manila 
that  General  Otis  should  have  commissioned  a  general  officer  to 
proceed  to  the  Sulu  archipelago  and  negotiate  with  the  Sultan  of 
Sulu  a  treaty  of  peace  and  protection.  This  document,  which 
was  secured  with  difficulty  and  misapprehension  on  both  sides, 
followed  the  traditional  lines  of  Spanish  policy  in  handling  this 
semi-independent  Malay  power.  One  article  of  the  treaty  how¬ 
ever,  which  recognized  slavery  in  the  Sulu  archipelago,  was  disap¬ 
proved  by  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

Following  closely  along  the  lines  of  traditional  Spanish  authority 
also  was  the  power  exercised  by  the  military  governor  to  expel  or 
exile  undesirable  persons.  This  power  was  used  against  Americans 
as  well  as  aliens,  but  perhaps  the  case  that  attracted  most  atten¬ 
tion  was  that  of  the  exile  and  confinement  on  the  island  of  Guam 
of  thirty-nine  Filipino  “Irreconcilables,”  including  the  leading 
Filipino  revolutionist  Apolinario  Mabini.  Was  it  also  the  tra¬ 
dition  of  the  cuviplase  which  induced  General  Otis  to  omit 
certain  portions  and  modify  others  of  President  McKinley’s 
notable  proclamation  of  American  sovereignty  cabled  to  Manila 
at  the  end  of  December  1898?  1 

On  the  administrative  side  the  Filipino  government  as  finally 
constituted  by  military  and  civil  authorities  shows  even  more 
definitely  the  influence  of  the  Spanish  institutions  and  traditions 
that  had  preceded  it.  Except  in  the  single  case  of  the  presidency 
of  the  United  States  American  prejudice  has  been  strong  against 
conferring  centralized  administrative  control  upon  a  single  execu¬ 
tive  head.  The  American  State  governor,  while  he  has  arisen  in 
recent  years  to  a  position  of  great  political  importance,  is  in  no 
case  the  executive  head  of  State  administration,  which  is  dis- 


1  General  Otis  omitted  entirely  from  the  proclamation  the  statement  of  the  right 
of  the  United  States  to  the  archipelago  both  by  conquest  and  cession,  and  the  in¬ 
tention  of  the  government  to  at  once  extend  its  authority.  Other  clauses  were 
expanded  and  to  certain  assurances  from  Washington  he  added  his  own.  (See 
Senate  Document  331,  pp.  776-778;  and  General  Otis’  Report,  1899,  opposite 
p.  359.  See  also  the  account  in  LeRoy,  Americans  in  the  Philippines,  p.  401  and 
note.) 


254 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


tributed  among  State  officers  having  a  similar  tenure  with  the 
governor  or  confided  to  commissions  and  boards  only  partially 
under  his  control.  The  same  disposition  has  manifested  itself 
in  the  creation  by  Congress  of  government  for  the  territories,  as  is 
exhibited  to-day  in  the  cases  of  Hawaii  and  Alaska.  In  neither 
of  these  two  last  cases  is  the  governor  of  the  territory  the  center 
of  the  administration  and  the  recognized  avenue  of  communication 
between  all  departments  of  the  federal  and  local  governments. 
Such  a  diffusion  of  responsibility  was  happily  prevented  in  the 
Philippines,  first  we  may  believe  by  the  abiding  influence  of  the 
office  of  governor-general  under  Spain,  and  in  the  second  place 
by  the  period  of  military  government  now  being  described.  As 
branches  of  civil  administration  were  recreated  during  the  period 
of  military  governorship  these  offices  were  not  subordinated  to 
departments  at  Washington,  but  were  made  responsible  to  the 
military  governor. 

The  responsibility  for  captured  funds  and  property  occasioned 
prompt  action  with  respect  to  those  branches  of  Spanish 
administration  which  had  been  embraced  in  the  Intendencia 
General  de  Hacienda.  By  General  Order  No.  5,  September 
17,  1898,  the  office  of  Intendente  General  was  suspended.  The 
duties  had  already  been  separated  into  several  departments :  the 
treasury,  the  department  of  audits  (General  Order  No.  3,  1898), 
the  department  of  customs  (August  20,  1898),  and  a  department  of 
internal  revenue  (August  21,  1898).  Later  on  those  branches  of 
administration  which  had  been  under  the  Direccion  General  de 
Administracion  Civil  were  taken  up  and  their  work  revived. 
Public  instruction  in  the  city  of  Manila  was  committed  to  the 
oversight  of  a  chaplain  of  one  of  the  army  regiments  and  later  an 
army  officer  was  detailed  for  the  entire  archipelago.  Public 
health  was  entrusted  to  the  medical  corps  of  the  army.  In 
March,  1900  (General  Order  No.  31)  the  Mining  Bureau  re¬ 
stored  the  Inspeccion  de  Minas  and  inherited  its  collections  and 
laboratory,  and  on  April  14  of  the  same  year  the  Forestry  Bu¬ 
reau  took  up  the  forestry  work  of  the  former  Inspeccion  General 
de  Montes.  The  organization  of  these  offices  as  well  as  others 
which  followed,  under  legislation  of  the  Philippine  Commission, 
took  on  a  bureaucratic  character,  and  thus  from  the  beginning  Phil- 


THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES  255 


ippine  administration  in  American  hands  was  unified,  centralized, 
and  made  responsible  to  the  chief  executive  of  the  archipelago. 

Superficial  critics  and  observers  of  the  Philippine  government 
have  on  a  few  occasions  advocated  the  placing  of  one  or  another 
field  of  Philippine  administration,  as  for  example  education,  under 
the  direction  of  the  corresponding  bureau  of  the  United  States 
federal  service.  Fortunately  such  suggestions  have  received  no 
encouragement.  Both  American  and  European  experience  fully 
justify  the  course  which  Philippine  administration  has  taken. 
The  French  experimented  for  years  under  the  influence  of  “as¬ 
similation”  ideas  with  an  attempt  to  administer  Algeria  through 
extension  to  their  African  possessions  of  the  administrative  work 
of  the  several  ministries  at  Paris.  During  this  period,  which  ex¬ 
tended  from  1881  to  1896,  local  officials  in  the  several  depart¬ 
ments  reported  not  to  the  governor-general  at  Algiers,  but  to 
their  respective  ministries  of  the  national  government.  This 
system  of  services  rattaches  gave  such  unsatisfactory  results  that 
a  senatorial  commission  under  the  chairmanship  of  M.  Jules  Ferry 
reported  in  1892  in  favor  of  its  abandonment.  The  policy  of 
centralization  under  the  governor-general  was  inaugurated  with 
generally  excellent  results.1  Alaska,  however,  is  a  present  example 
of  a  dependency  where  administrative  authority  instead  of  being 
concentrated  in  the  territorial  governor  is  distributed  between 
numerous  local  representatives  of  ununited  services,  who  report 
to  their  distant  heads  at  Washington.  The  unanimous  voice  of 
those  qualified  to  judge  of  the  workings  of  this  decentralized  sys¬ 
tem  testifies  to  its  disadvantages. 

On  September  1,  1900,  the  Philippine  Commission,  composed 
of  Hon.  William  H.  Taft  of  Ohio,  Professor  Dean  C.  Worcester  of 
Michigan,  Hon.  Luke  E.  Wright  of  Tennessee,  Hon.  Henry  C. 
Ide  of  Vermont,  and  Professor  Bernard  Moses  of  California, 
entered  upon  its  official  responsibilities  in  the  Philippines.  Its 
powers  are  defined  in  the  President’s  instructions  to  the  com¬ 
mission  transmitted  through  the  Secretary  of  War  under  date  of 
April  7,  1900.2  Its  general  mandate  was  to  “continue  and  perfect 

1  Girault,  Principes  de  Colonisation  el  de  Legislation  Coloniale  (1904),  vol.  2, 
pp.  388-389. 

1  Printed  in  Public  Laws  of  the  Philippine  Commission,  vol.  1,  p.  43  ff. 


256 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


the  work  of  organizing  and  establishing  civil  government  already 
commenced  by  the  military  authorities.”  On  the  first  day  of 
September  that  part  of  the  power  of  government  in  the  Philippine 
Islands  which  was  of  a  legislative  nature  was  to  be  transferred 
from  the  military  governor  to  the  commission.  This  was  specifi¬ 
cally  described  as  including  the  powers  of  taxation  and  appropri¬ 
ation  of  public  funds,  establishment  of  an  educational  system,  of 
a  civil  service,  of  courts  and  municipal  and  departmental  govern¬ 
ments.  It  was  further  provided  that  the  commission  should 
have  the  power  to  appoint  officers  “  under  the  judicial,  educational, 
and  civil  service  systems  and  in  the  municipal  and  departmental 
governments  as  shall  be  provided  for.” 

It  seems  that  it  was  the  original  intention  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States  in  appointing  the  Philippine  Commission  to 
create  a  plural  executive.  The  instructions  read :  “  The  com¬ 
missioners  .  .  .  will  meet  and  act  as  a  board,  and  the  Hon.  Wil¬ 
liam  H.  Taft  is  designated  as  president  of  the  board.”  Power 
and  responsibility  obviously  were  collegiate  and  not  individual. 
The  president  of  the  board  was  clearly  only  a  presiding  officer. 
However,  as  the  Philippine  insurrection  drew  to  a  close  in  the 
spring  of  1901  and  the  improvement  in  the  military  condition  of 
the  archipelago  warranted  the  establishment  of  a  complete  civil 
government,  and  the  substitution  for  the  office  of  military 
governor  of  one  of  a  civil  character,  the  plan  of  a  collegiate 
executive  underwent  transformation,  and  on  June  21  the  Secre¬ 
tary  of  War  issued  to  the  president  of  the  commission  an  appoint¬ 
ment  as  civil  governor  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  with  the  power 
to  “exercise  the  executive  authority  in  all  civil  affairs  in  the 
government  of  the  Philippine  Islands  heretofore  exercised  in  such 
affairs  by  the  military  governor  of  the  Philippines.”  The  ap¬ 
pointment  provided  that  “the  power  to  appoint  civil  officers, 
heretofore  vested  in  the  Philippine  Commission,  or  in  the  military 
governor,  will  be  exercised  by  the  civil  governor  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  commission.  The  military  governor  by  the 
same  order  was  relieved  from  the  performance  of  civil  duties, 
although  his  authority  was  to  continue  in  districts  where  insur¬ 
rection  still  continued  or  public  order  was  not  sufficiently  restored. 
Under  date  of  October  29,  1901,  President  Roosevelt  appointed 


THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES  257 


Mr.  Luke  E.  Wright  “vice-governor”  with  authority  to  act  in 
the  absence  or  incapacity  of  the  civil  governor. 

The  tendency  of  “government  by  commission”  is  to  work  away 
from  the  principle  of  collegiate  responsibility  with  which  com¬ 
mission  government  begins,  and  commit  specific  responsibilities 
to  individual  members.  As  a  consequence,  unless  by  a  rigid 
practice  all  important  actions  of  individual  members  are  reviewed 
and  approved  in  commission,  the  principle  of  joint  responsibility 
is  impaired.  This  was  the  development  which  the  Philippine 
Commission  eventually  underwent.  Acting  under  instructions 
from  the  Secretary  of  War  on  September  6,  1901,  the  commission 
enacted  Act  No.  222,  which  provided  for  the  organization  of  four 
departments :  Interior,  Commerce  and  Police,  Finance  and  Jus¬ 
tice,  and  Public  Instruction,  to  the  head  of  which  departments 
the  President,  through  the  Secretary  of  War,  appointed  the  four 
original  colleagues  of  Mr.  Taft.  Section  5  of  this  act  provides 
that  the  secretaries  shall  exercise  the  executive  control  conferred 
upon  them  under  the  general  supervision  of  the  civil  governor, 
and  that  the  executive  control  of  the  central  government  over 
provincial  and  municipal  governments  and  the  civil  service  should 
be  exercised  directly  by  the  civil  governor  through  an  executive 
secretary. 

It  is  difficult  to  assert  definitely  how  the  principle  of  collegiate 
responsibility  assumed  when  the  Philippine  Commission  was  cre¬ 
ated  has  worked  out.  The  other  members  of  the  Philippine 
Commission,  now  consisting  of  nine  members  altogether,  are  not 
mere  adjutants  or  cabinet  secretaries  of  the  governor-general. 
They,  like  himself,  are  appointees  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  They  may  outrank  him  in  length  of  service  and  experi¬ 
ence,  and  may  and  frequently  have  differed  from  him  on  matters 
of  policy.  Their  oversight  of  the  branches  of  administration 
committed  to  them  and  of  the  bureaus  in  which  this  administra¬ 
tion  is  organized,  is  to  a  large  degree  independent  of  the  governor- 
general.1  The  governor-general  in  the  absence  of  a  commis¬ 
sioner,  however,  may  assume  the  direction  of  his  department,  and 

1  By  the  rules  of  the  commission,  the  governor-general  and  each  Secretary  is 
a  standing  committee  of  one  on  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  particular  depart¬ 
ment  which  each  represents.  Commission  Journal ,  First  Philippine  Legislature, 
Inaugural  Session,  p.  71,  and  Second  Session,  p.  79. 


8 


258 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


on  certain  branches  of  the  administration,  as  for  instance  con¬ 
stabulary  and  the  preservation  of  public  order,  his  policy  has 
usually  been  decisive.  He  possesses  the  power  to  proclaim  martial 
law,  suspend  the  ordinary  civil  rights  granted  by  the  Philippine 
bill  and  even  to  “concentrate”  the  population,  but  he  must  ex¬ 
ercise  these  extraordinary  powers  with  the  approval  of  the  Philip¬ 
pine  Commission.  He  has,  moreover,  the  right  to  inspect  and 
even  personally  correct  any  branch  of  administration  whatever. 
The  custom  followed  by  all  of  the  chief  executives  of  making  fre¬ 
quent  trips  through  the  provinces  and  by  personal  observation 
satisfying  themselves  as  to  the  workings  of  insular  and  provincial 
administration  has  naturally  led  to  the  governor-general’s  taking 
cognizance  of  the  working  of  all  departments  of  government. 
Furthermore  he  may  direct  the  dismissal  of  any  official  except  a 
justice  of  the  supreme  court,  a  Philippine  commissioner,  or  the 
insular  auditor,  who  is  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  and 
this  great  disciplinary  power  makes  his  authority  respected  by  all 
elements  of  administration.  Furthermore,  while  the  appoint¬ 
ments  of  subordinate  officials  are  regularly  approved  by  the  heads 
of  departments,  the  directors  of  bureaus  and  the  assistant  direc¬ 
tors  are  made  by  the  governor-general.  Good  policy  recom¬ 
mends  consultation  between  him  and  the  head  of  a  department 
concerned  and  this  consultation  is  usually  had,  but  there  have 
been  undoubted  instances  of  conflict  of  desire,  and  in  these  cases 
the  will  of  the  governor-general  appears  to  have  prevailed.  Fur¬ 
thermore,  the  civil  service  regulations  are  promulgated  by  the 
governor-general  and  his  power  over  these  rules  and  their  oper¬ 
ation  appears  to  be  complete.  It  is  doubtful,  however,  if  the 
legal  relation  existing  between  him  and  the  heads  of  the  depart¬ 
ments  is  a  proper  one.  The  survival  of  collegiate  responsibility 
is  of  questionable  advantage.  The  principle  recognized  in  other 
colonial  governments  of  making  the  governor-general  alone 
responsible  for  executive  policy  and  limiting  the  function  of  his 
colleagues  to  that  of  an  advisory  council  possesses  undoubted  ad¬ 
vantages.  Dissensions  between  members  of  the  commission 
which  the  governor-general  was  powerless  to  correct  or  override 
and  which  could  only  be  settled  at  Washington  by  a  necessarily 
slow  process  have  undoubtedly  embarrassed  the  governor-general 


THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES  259 


in  the  fulfillment  of  his  responsibility  and  have  in  a  considerable 
degree  been  responsible  for  a  decline  in  the  standing  and  effective¬ 
ness  of  the  commission  itself.1 

By  the  “Philippine  Bill”  approved  July  1,  1902,  Congress  ap¬ 
proved,  ratified,  and  confirmed  the  actions  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States  in  creating  the  Philippine  Commission  and  the 
offices  of  civil  governor  and  vice-governor  and  the  secretaries  of 
departments,  and  provided  that  laws  of  the  Philippine  Commis¬ 
sion  up  to  that  time  enacted  “by  authority  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States”  should  thereafter  read  “by  authority  of  the 
United  States.”  2 

The  above  legislation  comprises  the  principal  acts  establishing 
the  office  of  chief  executive  in  the  Philippines  and  defining  its 
powers.  These  powers  have  however  been  further  amplified  in 
two  ways ;  by  acts  of  the  Philippine  Commission  and  of  the 
Philippine  Legislature  and  by  the  assumption  of  certain  powers  as 
inherent  in  or  traditional  to  the  office  of  Philippine  governor.3 

Among  the  powers  of  the  governor-general  which  have  Been 
developed  by  action  of  the  legislative  authority  is  a  very  consider¬ 
able  “ordinance  power.”  The  European  practice  of  confining  a 
statute  to  a  bare  declaration  of  principles  or  policy  and  authoriz¬ 
ing  the  development  of  details  by  “Orders  in  Council”  or  de- 
crets  of  the  executive  is  so  little  understood  in  America  that 
where  such  a  practice  arises  under  an  American  government  it 
deserves  attention.  A  statute  of  an  American  legislature  too 


1  See  Congressional  Record,  vol.  49,  p.  3089. 

3  All  the  steps  taken  for  the  pacification  of  the  Philippines  and  the  organization 
there  of  government  were  taken  under  authority  of  the  President  and  by  virtue 
of  his  constitutional  powers  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  army.  Congress  gave 
no  sanction  to  the  President’s  work  until  the  Philippine  Bill  noted  above,  although 
on  March  2,  1901,  it  did  recognize  American  possession  by  a  section  of  the  army 
appropriation  bill,  which  ratified  the  customs  law  as  enacted  by  the  Philippine 
Commission  and  added  a  revenue  law  granting  refunds  to  the  Philippine  govern¬ 
ment  of  customs  collected  on  American  imports  from  the  Philippines.  This  law 
of  Congress  further  provided  that  no  person  in  the  Philippine  Islands  should  be 
convicted  of  treason  “  unless  on  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt 
act  or  on  confession  in  open  court.”  On  April  29,  1902,  shortly  before  the  enact¬ 
ment  of  the  Philippine  Bill,  an  act  was  passed  applying  the  Chinese  immigration 
laws  to  the  archipelago. 

3  The  title  of  civil  governor  created  in  distinction  to  that  of  military  governor 
was  held  by  Mr.  Taft.  After  his  retirement  from  the  Philippines  and  appoint¬ 
ment  as  Secretary  of  War  he  secured  for  his  successor  the  adoption  by  Congress 
of  the  title  ‘‘governor-general,”  thereby  reviving  the  high  designation  used  during 
the  last  period  of  Spanish  rule  and  placing  the  office  on  a  parity  of  dignity  with 
that  of  other  colonial  empires  of  first  importance. 


260 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


frequently  aims  to  cover  every  minor  detail  and  anticipate  every 
situation  that  may  arise  in  the  administration  of  the  law.  The 
rigidity  thus  imposed  occasions  constant  amendment  by  subse¬ 
quent  legislatures. 

The  absence  of  any  clear  conception  of  “ordinance  power”  in 
the  minds  of  the  Philippine  Commission  led  to  their  expressing 
the  legislative  will  in  minute  detail.  The  result  is  that  the  bulk  of 
the  acts  —  they  amount  to  exactly  1800  —  passed  by  the  com¬ 
mission  during  the  period  of  its  sole  legislative  authority,  from 
1900  to  1907,  are  not  laws  or  lots  in  the  French  sense, 
but  minor  amplifications,  suspensions  and  administrative  ad¬ 
justments  properly  forming  the  field  of  executive  ordinances  or 
decrees. 

Nevertheless  the  very  experience  of  the  commission  in  repeal¬ 
ing  and  amending  its  own  work  led  it  gradually  to  intrust  certain 
legislative  powers  to  the  governor-general.  This  process  was 
augmented  by  the  inauguration  of  the  Philippine  Assembly.  As 
the  period  of  its  exclusive  legislative  authority  drew  to  a  close  the 
commission  labored  diligently  and  with  obvious  purpose  to  bring 
the  body  of  Philippine  laws  to  a  state  which  would  not  require 
further  enactments,  if  legislation  proved  impossible  with  the  set¬ 
ting  up  of  a  concurrent  lawmaking  chamber.  A  number  of  acts 
conferred  powers  on  the  governor-general  in  explicit  expectation 
that  the  legislative  power  would  thereafter  be  exercised  less 
freely.  For  example  the  preamble  to  Act  1748  recites  that  whereas 
changes  in  the  boundaries  and  capital  seats  of  provinces  may  be 
made  necessary  by  new  routes  of  communication  and  other  eco¬ 
nomic  development  and  “  Whereas  the  Legislature  will  not,  in  all 
probability,  be  in  session  more  than  ninety  days  per  annum ; 
and  Whereas  it  is  desirable  that  there  may  be  provided  by  law  an 
expeditious  method  by  which  such  changes  may  be  made,”  it  is 
enacted  that  whenever  in  the  judgment  of  the  governor-general 
the  public  welfare  requires,  he  may  by  executive  order  change 
the  boundaries  or  subdivide  or  merge  any  province,  sub-province, 
municipality,  township,  or  administrative  jurisdiction,  and  in 
case  new  offices  are  made  necessary  by  subdivision,  create  such 
offices  and  fill  them  either  by  appointment  or  election.  Action 
under  the  powers  of  this  act  has  been  constant.  Through  its 


THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES  261 


exercise  hundreds  of  towns  once  deprived  of  their  autonomy  have 
been  restored  to  their  earlier  status.1 

An  earlier  act  of  the  same  character  (No.  1701)  authorized  the 
governor-general,  in  the  interests  of  economy,  to  consolidate  the 
office  of  provincial  fiscal  for  two  or  more  provinces,  and  this  power 
has  also  been  exercised  repeatedly. 

Another  remarkable  power  exercised  for  some  years  was  con¬ 
ferred  by  a  clause  in  a  general  appropriation  bill  authorizing  the 
governor-general  to  combine  any  two  or  more  positions  and  from 
the  united  salaries  form  a  new  position  of  higher  grade,  or  to 
authorize  the  appointment  of  two  or  more  persons  for  the  salary 
provided  for  a  single  position.2  These  powers  were  exercised  by 
Governor-General  Forbes  in  such  a  manner  as  to  arouse  the 
opposition  of  the  assembly  and  with  the  passage  of  the  first  ap¬ 
propriation  bill  under  Governor-General  Harrison  such  action 
was  made  illegal.3  It  is  doubtful,  from  the  scientific  standpoint, 
whether  a  power  to  recast  the  budgetary  provisions  should  ever 
have  been  conferred.  In  a  representative  government  which,  on 
the  legislative  side,  that  of  the  Philippines  is,  the  power  to  deter¬ 
mine  the  number  and  grade  of  offices  and  the  appropriations  for 
specific  ends  is  a  legislative  function.4 

Acts  of  the  commission  have  frequently  left  to  executive  au¬ 
thority  the  determination  of  the  date  when  they  should  become 
operative.  For  years  the  land  tax  was  difficult  to  collect  and  the 
continuous  petitioning  of  provincial  boards  for  legislative  relief 
from  the  payment  of  this  tax  was  finally  settled  by  conferring  upon 
the  governor-general  the  power  to  grant  such  suspension  (Act 
1713). 

Prior  to  the  inauguration  of  the  first  session  of  the  Philippine 
assembly,  the  ordering  and  arrangement  of  the  budget  for  sub¬ 
mission  to  the  legislative  body  was  under  the  governor-general’s 
immediate  control,  as  this  work  was  done  by  the  executive  secre¬ 
tary.  There  can  be  little  difference  of  opinion  that  this  is  the 

1  See  Executive  Orders  and  Proclamations,  issued  by  the  governor-general, 
Manila,  1909,  1910,  1911,  1912,  1913,  1914. 

2  Act  1679,  Sec.  3. 

8  Act  2319,  Sections  2  to  6. 

4  This  action  taken  by  the  governor-general  was  also  the  cause  of  serious  con¬ 
flict  of  opinion  between  him  and  one  of  the  commissioners.  See  Congressional 
Record,  vol.  49,  3105-3107. 


262 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


scientific  and  proper  manner  for  budget  submission.  American 
practice,  the  faults  of  which  are  becoming  obvious  to  the  public, 
has  however  confided  this  task  to  legislative  committees,  with  the 
consequent  development  of  the  American  institutions  of  “logroll¬ 
ing”  and  the  “pork  barrel.”  It  was  particularly  unfortunate 
that  this  tradition  should  have  been  so  fixed  in  the  minds  of  the 
members  of  the  Philippine  Commission  as  to  induce  them  at  once 
to  relinquish  this  properly  executive  function  to  a  committee  of 
the  assembly.  The  appropriation  bill  passed  by  the  first  legis¬ 
lature  was  indeed  better  than  might  have  been  anticipated,  but  it 
fell  short  of  what  an  appropriation  bill,  properly  considered  from 
the  standpoint  of  government  needs,  should  be.  Owing  to  the 
inability  thereafter  of  commission  and  assembly  to  agree  upon 
another  appropriation  it  remained  the  regular  budget  during  the 
entire  administration  of  Governor-General  Forbes,  1909  to  1913.1 

The  governor-general  possesses  very  ample  powers  of  grant¬ 
ing  pardons  and  paroles.  The  authority  seems  to  be  descended 
from  that  exercised  by  the  military  governor.  Neither  Congress 
nor  the  Philippine  Commission  ever  directly  bestowed  it.  On 
June  2,  1902,  a  general  amnesty  was  extended  to  political  prisoners 
in  the  Philippines  by  the  President.  Ordinary  criminal  offenders 
were  not  included  but  the  President  directed  that  “  special  applica¬ 
tion  may  be  made  by  those  exempted  from  the  amnesty  to  the 
'proper  authority  for  pardon.”  This  “proper  authority”  is  con¬ 
ceived  to  be  the  governor-general.  The  power  of  pardon  has 
been  liberally  used  by  all  governors-general,  sometimes  upon  the 
recommendation  of  a  board  of  pardons  appointed  by  the  executive 
to  review  records,  and  otherwise  upon  examination  of  applications 
by  the  governor-general  himself. 

Under  conditions  that  exist  in  the  Philippines  the  pardoning 
power  is  one  of  immense  delicacy  and  political  importance.  Its 
exercise  is  surrounded  with  difficulties.  Among  notable  cases 
have  been  the  decision  of  Governor-General  Smith  in  the  appli¬ 
cation  for  pardon  of  the  “cabecillas”  Sakay,  Montalon,  and  de 

1  The  Philippine  Bill  providing  for  the  assembly,  required  that  in  case  of  fail¬ 
ure  to  pass  an  appropriation  bill  for  a  new  budget  period  the  former  budget  would 
continue  in  force  with  identical  appropriations.  This  device,  which  seems  to  have 
been  borrowed  from  the  Constitution  of  Japan,  and  which  has  been  extended  also 
to  the  government  of  Porto  Rico,  prevents  the  assembly  from  coercing  the  com¬ 
mission  by  the  historic  method  of  refusal  to  “grant  supply.” 


THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES  263 


Vega,  who,  after  surrender  were  condemned  to  death,  and  finally 
executed,  and  the  recent  case  of  General  Noriel.  Pardon  having 
been  refused  for  this  man,  application  was  made  directly  to  Presi¬ 
dent  Wilson,  who  granted  a  stay.  Thereupon,  according  to  re¬ 
liable  reports,  Governor-General  Harrison  tendered  his  resignation. 
The  interposition  of  the  President  was  then  withdrawn  and  the 
execution  of  General  Noriel  followed  on  the  day  fixed.  Legis¬ 
lation  has  twice  extended  the  scope  of  the  pardoning  power  by 
authorizing  conditional  pardons  and  paroles  (Acts  1524  and 
1561). 1 

The  power  of  exile  and  deportation  once  exercised  by  the  gov¬ 
ernor-general  under  Spain  and  by  the  military  governor  is 
hardly  to  be  so  easily  explained  and  indeed  seems  to  be  irrecon¬ 
cilable  with  the  constitutional  system  extended  to  the  Philippines. 
Yet  without  doubt  the  governor-general  has  this  power  at  least 
as  respects  aliens,  including  not  merely  aliens  seeking  admission 
who  may,  without  judicial  review  of  their  acts,  be  expelled  by 
immigration  authorities,  but  also  aliens  long  resident  in  the  Philip¬ 
pines.  In  1910  certain  Chinese,  twelve  in  number,  designated 
by  the  Chinese  consul-general  as  persons  prejudicial  to  the  good 
order  of  the  Chinese  community,  were  arrested  and  conveyed  to 
China  by  order  of  the  governor-general  or  at  least  under  his 
authority.  One  had  been  for  years  a  resident  in  the  islands  and 
had  children  in  the  public  schools.  Subsequently  several  of  the 
number  returned  and  sought  protection  by  a  writ  of  injunction  to 
police  and  constabulary  authorities  and  also  to  the  governor- 
general.  A  suit  for  damages  against  Governor-General  Forbes 
was  also  filed.  The  supreme  court  of  the  Philippines  to  which 
the  cases  were  appealed  upheld  the  power  of  the  governor-general 
to  deport  obnoxious  aliens  as  a  power  inherent  in  the  executive 
without  specific  legislative  grant.2  Meanwhile  the  Philippine 
Legislature  passed  an  act  defining  “due  process  of  law”  in  such 
cases  to  be  a  hearing  before  the  governor-general  or  his  authorized 


1  The  Municipal  Board  of  Manila  for  a  long  time  followed  the  practice  of  par¬ 
doning  offenders  convicted  of  violations  of  municipal  ordinances  without  other 
warrant  for  such  action  than  that  such  power  was  exercised  under  military  rule 
by  the  Provost  Marshal  General. 

1  Forbes  et  al.  vs.  Tiaco  et  al.,  16  Philippine  Reports,  534.  This  decision 
on  somewhat  different  grounds  has  been  upheld  by  the  Supreme  Court.  Tiaco 
vs.  Forbes,  228  U.S.  549. 


264 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


representative,  and  providing  further  that  the  act  should  not  be 
construed  to  authorize  the  “  extranamiento,  destierro,  deporta¬ 
tion  or  other  form  of  expulsion  from  the  islands  of  Filipinos  ” 
(Act  2113). 

This  case  raises  the  general  question  of  the  power  of  courts  to 
review  the  acts  of  administrative  officers.  In  the  United  States 
this  is  the  recognized  procedure.  It  is  well  settled  that  the  acts 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States  are  not  judicially  re  viewable, 
nor  will  the  ordinary  writs  lie  against  him,  but  this  does  not  apply 
to  his  cabinet  officers  nor  have  the  courts  always  applied  this 
exemption  to  the  governor  of  a  state.  We  have  seen  that  the 
Manila  court  directed  a  writ  of  injunction  to  the  governor-general. 
But  in  the  main  the  action  of  courts  for  reviewing  administrative 
acts,  for  determining  conflicts  of  jurisdiction,  or  for  interpreting 
administrative  powers,  has  been  extremely  sparse.  In  place  of 
judicial  action  the  commission  has  existed  to  adjust,  or  deter¬ 
mine  by  executive  instruction  or  new  legislation,  any  conflict  of 
powers,  and  to  redress  by  direct  action  any  abusive  or  unwise  con¬ 
duct  of  a  subordinate  officer.  Aggrieved  persons  have  found  this 
method  of  redress  so  advantageous  that  there  has  existed  prac¬ 
tically  no  inducement  to  appeal  to  the  courts.  The  commission 
has  in  fact  acted  in  certain  cases  almost  as  an  “administrative 
court”  in  the  continental  sense.  But  the  informality  of  its  pro¬ 
ceedings  and  the  absence  of  record  have  delayed  the  growth  of 
anything  like  a  body  of  “administrative  law.”  The  situation  is 
one  to  suggest  the  establishment  of  a  superior  administrative 
court  in  the  proper  sense,  to  hear  cases  and  recommend  action 
in  a  large  class  of  responsibilities  in  which  the  governor-general 
has  been  intrusted  with  an  administrative-judicial  power.  These 
cases  include  review  of  disputed  elections,  charges  of  malfeasance 
and  removal  from  office,  disqualification  from  holding  public 
office ;  decisions  on  appeal  from  provincial  boards  on  the  legality 
of  municipal  ordinances;  the  reservation  of  public  lands;  the 
fixing  of  penal  stations;  the  determination  of  responsibility  for 
loss  of  property  by  officials,  with  consequent  deductions  of  salary. 
Such  cases  as  these,  and  many  others  which  are  within  the  gover¬ 
nor-general’s  competence,  and  which  are  frequently  decided  on 
merely  clerical  advice,  are  quasi- judicial  in  character  and  could 


THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES  265 


presumably  be  settled  with  greater  wisdom  if  action  were  taken 
under  the  advice  of  a  body  or  court  composed  of  men  highly 
trained  in  both  administration  and  law. 

The  above  paragraphs  do  not  pretend  to  furnish  a  complete 
analysis  of  the  office  of  governor-general  as  it  at  present  exists 
under  American  authority.  Nothing  is  said,  for  instance,  of  the 
interesting  development  in  recent  years  of  the  office  of  speaker 
of  the  assembly  and  the  disposition  of  the  speakership  to  en¬ 
croach  upon  the  executive  functions  of  the  governor-general. 
The  office  is  obviously  still  undergoing  development  and  may  at 
any  time  be  radically  altered  by  congressional  legislation.  A 
main  point  of  this  paper  has  been  to  indicate  if  possible  the  his¬ 
toric  continuity  of  the  office  under  Spain  and  under  the  United 
States. 


THE  NORTHWESTERN  STATES,  BRITISH  CO¬ 
LUMBIA,  AND  ALASKA,  IN  THEIR  RELA¬ 
TIONS  WITH  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN 


THE  ATTITUDE  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  GOVERNMENT 
TOWARD  ALASKA 


Frank  A.  Golder 

In  recent  years  much  has  been  said  of  the  blindness  of  the 
Russian  government  in  selling,  and  the  far-sightedness  of  the 
American  government  in  purchasing,  Alaska.  When  we  are 
told  that  at  the  time  of  the  transfer  gold  and  copper  had  been  dis¬ 
covered  in  the  territory,  that  coal  mines  were  in  operation,  that 
timber,  fish,  ice,  and  fur  were  being  exported  and  sold  at  a  profit, 
we  naturally  ask  :  Why  was  Alaska  sold  ?  In  raising  the  question 
we  are  viewing  the  transaction  from  the  point  of  view  of  dollars 
and  cents.  To  the  Russian  government,  however,  Alaska  was 
from  the  beginning  more  of  a  political  than  an  economic  problem. 

Unlike  other  European  powers  Russia  came  into  possession  of 
territory  in  America  by  accident  and  not  by  design.  Bering  was 
sent  to  determine  the  relation  between  the  old  and  the  new  worlds. 
Peter  the  Great  had  in  mind  scientific  discovery  and  not  the 
acquisition  of  new  lands.  When  it  was  reported  that  Bering  had 
located  the  northwest  coast  of  America,  the  government  took 
no  steps  to  hold  it.  Who  cared  for  a  distant  land  inhabited  by 
savages?  Until  the  time  of  Cook  the  exact  geographic  situation 
of  the  islands  and  their  relation  to  the  mainland  were  matters 
of  speculation.  The  statesmen  in  St.  Petersburg  had  their  faces 
turned  towards  the  Near  East  and  not  the  Far  East.  Had  it  not 
been  for  fur-traders,  who,  regardless  of  the  neglect  of  the  govern¬ 
ment,  exploited  one  island  after  another,  the  term  Russian-America 
never  would  have  appeared  on  the  maps. 

Catherine  had  not  been  on  the  throne  very  long  before  the  newly 
discovered  islands  were  called  to  her  attention  in  various  ways. 
The  profitable  trade  attracted  many  adventurers,  and  the  wealthier 
traders  came  to  the  capital  to  ask  for  special  privileges,  and  to 

269 


270 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


bring  charges  against  their  competitors.  To  gain  their  point 
they  painted  in  bright  colors  the  new  possessions,  the  limitless 
territory  for  expansion,  —  the  great  future  empire.  In  addition 
to  these  Russian  promoters  there  were  others  of  foreign  countries 
who  offered  to  lead  expeditions  of  discovery  and  to  extend  Russia’s 
commerce  and  empire  in  the  Indies  and  America.  It  should  be 
remembered  that  this  was  the  last  part  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
when  the  atmosphere  of  Europe  was  full  of  such  projects,  the 
voyages  of  Cook  and  La  Perouse  being  evidence  enough  on  that 
point.  Here  was  a  serious  and  thoughtful  problem  for  Catherine 
to  decide.  Was  it  for  the  best  interests  of  her  empire  to  acquire 
over-seas  possessions,  far  from  the  seat  of  government?  Expan¬ 
sion  in  itself  was  not  a  new  thing  for  Russia ;  since  the  sixteenth 
century  she  had  been  adding  to  her  domains,  but  had  done  so  by 
annexing  contiguous  territory.  The  question  now  was  different; 
it  had  to  do  with  lands  across  the  sea.  Catherine  understood  that 
in  order  to  hold  dominions  out  in  the  ocean  and  far  from  the  me¬ 
tropolis  a  nation  must  have  an  over-flowing  population,  a  strong 
navy,  and  a  merchant  marine.  Russia  had  none  of  these.  In 
order  then  to  understand  Russia’s  problem  in  Alaska,  one  should 
constantly  keep  in  mind  these  factors  —  the  need  of  population 
and  of  a  navy. 

After  thinking  the  subject  over  the  Empress  decided  on  a 
line  of  action.  In  a  letter  to  her  minister,  Panin,  written  in  1769, 
in  answer  to  various  projects  of  foreign  adventurers,  she  said : 
“  It  is  for  traders  to  traffic  where  they  please.  I  will  furnish  neither 
men,  nor  ships,  nor  money,  and  I  renounce  forever  all  lands  and 
possessions  in  the  East  Indies  and  in  America.”  That  was  a  clear 
statement  of  policy  and  could  not  be  misunderstood.  A  few  years 
later,  in  1781,  England,  in  return  for  military  assistance  to  be  used 
against  the  American  Colonies,  intimated  that  it  would  be  will¬ 
ing  to  cede  to  Russia  territory  in  America.  In  reply  the  Russian 
minister  said  that  to  accept  land  in  such  a  distant  part  of  the 
world  would  ruin  Russia  because  she  had  no  fleet.  In  1787,  two 
Siberian  merchant  adventurers  laid  before  the  Empress  a  petition 
in  which  they  undertook,  in  exchange  for  special  commercial 
privileges  in  Alaska,  to  colonize  that  land  and  to  extend  the 
limits  of  the  Russian  Empire  in  America.  Catherine  drew  up  a 


RUSSIA  AND  ALASKA 


271 


paper  in  reply  covering  the  questions  of  colonization  and  expan¬ 
sion  in  the  North  Pacific.  In  the  first  place  she  declared  that  the 
proposition  was  an  impracticable  one  because  the  population  for 
the  proposed  colonies  would  have  to  be  drawn  from  Siberia,  and 
that  country  had  none  to  spare ;  one  hundred  people  in  Siberia 
were  equal  to  a  thousand  in  Europe.  Then  she  went  on  to  say 
that  colonization  and  expansion  in  place  of  being  a  blessing  were 
a  burden.  England’s  experience  with  the  American  colonies 
should  be  a  warning  to  other  nations  to  abstain  from  such  under¬ 
takings.  Russia  would  not  benefit  from  expansion  in  the  Pacific ; 
to  claim  (a  territory  and  trade  in  a  colony  was  one  thing,  to  hold 
and  govern  it  was  another.  Quite  in  line  with  the  economic 
theories  of  the  times,  she  thought  that  the  best  help  a  government 
could  give  to  the  commerce  of  a  nation  was  to  let  it  alone.  It  was 
for  traders  to  barter  and  for  kings  to  govern. 

This  laissez-faire  policy  in  regard  to  the  North  Pacific  was 
possible  so  long  as  other  nations  kept  out  of  the  territory.  But 
towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  trading  ships  from  every 
part  of  the  globe  visited  the  Northwest,  and  Paul  I  had  to  decide 
whether  Russia  was  to  hold  the  lands  acquired  by  the  hunters 
or  to  withdraw  from  the  American  continent.  He  was  quite 
discouraged  with  the  complaints  which  reached  him  from  America. 
For  a  time  he  was  seriously  considering  the  advisability  of  pro¬ 
hibiting  all  Russians  from  going  there,  which  meant,  of  course, 
the  abandonment  of  the  territory.  It  might  have  been  wrell  for 
Russia  had  he  done  so.  There  were,  however,  those  who  dissuaded 
him  from  this  step. 

Since  Alaska  was  to  be  retained  the  question  was,  how  should 
it  be  governed  ?  Various  schemes  were  suggested  :  it  was  proposed 
to  hand  it  over  to  a  private  company,  similar  to  the  Hudson’s 
Bay  Company,  or  to  hold  it  as  a  crown  colony.  One  statesman 
favored  a  plan  having  elements  of  both ;  according  to  this  Alaska 
was  for  a  short  period  to  be  given  to  a  private  company.  While 
the  company  was  in  control  there  should  be  stationed  in  the  terri¬ 
tory  a  government  officer  of  some  importance,  having  to  assist 
him  a  competent  staff  of  engineers,  agricultural  experts,  and  other 
scientists.  These  men  should  make  a  thorough  survey  of  the 
resources  of  the  land  in  order  that  the  government  should  be  in  a 


272 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


position  to  formulate  an  intelligent  policy  for  the  development 
of  the  territory  when  taken  over  from  the  company.  In  the 
meantime  officers  should  be  stationed  in  the  various  villages  to 
protect  the  natives  from  the  lawlessness  of  the  hunters.  This  was 
a  sensible  and,  from  all  appearances,  a  workable  plan.  But  it  had 
against  it  the  influence  of  a  strong  trading  company,  organized 
in  1797,  which  promised  to  build  up  Alaska  and  to  uplift  the 
natives.  In  the  end  this  company  was  reorganized,  in  1799,  as 
the  Russian  American  Company,  and  was  granted  monopolistic 
privileges  for  twenty  years.  It  had  great  encouragement  from 
the  government;  every  request  was  granted,  gigantic  projects 
were  set  on  foot,  a  new  empire  was  to  be  opened.  Friends  and 
foes  watched  and  withheld  judgment.  But  soon  most  discouraging 
reports  of  death,  starvation,  failure  and  mismanagement  came  to 
the  capital.  Twice  in  the  course  of  the  twenty-year  period  a 
special  officer  was  sent  by  the  Emperor  to  make  investigations. 
This  officer  drew  a  gloomy  picture  of  the  situation :  as  a  place  to 
live  in  Alaska  was  most  undesirable  on  account  of  the  climate 
and  the  distance  from  civilization ;  the  population  was  decreasing, 
and  without  people  there  could  be  no  colonies.  In  western  Alaska 
the  Russians  were  exterminating  the  Aleuts  while  in  Eastern 
Alaska  the  Tlingits  were  massacring  the  Russians,  and  if  these 
conditions  continued  it  was  only  a  question  of  time  before  the 
country  would  become  a  desert.  He  raised  the  query  whether 
Alaska  was  worth  the  price.  Russia,  in  return  for  a  number  of 
pelts,  was  sacrificing  each  year  a  number  of  healthy  young  Sibe¬ 
rians  who  were  greatly  needed  at  home  to  develop  the  country,  but 
who,  in  Alaska,  became  physical  and  moral  wrecks.  Out  of  one 
party  of  175  people,  sent  to  Alaska  in  1794,  there  were  left  four 
in  1820.  The  American  colonies  instead  of  being  a  help  to  the 
Empire  were  a  drain  and  stood  in  the  way  of  the  growth  of  Siberia. 

In  addition  to  the  evils  just  mentioned  there  were  international 
complications  arising  from  the  retention  of  that  territory.  Be¬ 
tween  1800  and  1820  the  possessions  in  America  became  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  diplomatic  negotiations  with  England,  the  United  States, 
Spain,  Japan,  and  China,  and  led  to  difficulties  in  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  and  to  some  extent  in  the  Philippines. 

When  the  first  charter  of  the  company  expired  the  question 


RUSSIA  AND  ALASKA 


273 


came  up  as  usual,  what  should  be  done  with  the  American  terri¬ 
tory?  The  same  alternatives  were  discussed.  To  the  suggestion 
that  the  government  take  it  over,  Alexander  I  is  reported  to  have 
said:  “No,  no.  It  costs  me  now  300,000  rubles  to  look  after 
Kamchatka.  If  I  should  attempt  to  take  America  under  my  care 
it  would  require  a  million.”  The  company  was  in  possession, 
and  by  making  additional  sweet-sounding  promises  it  secured  a 
renewal  of  the  lease. 

From  1820  to  1860  Alaska  became  more  and  more  a  burden 
on  the  Empire.  The  fur-bearing  animals  were  being  killed  off, 
the  natives  were  dying  out,  and  it  was  difficult  to  persuade  Rus¬ 
sians  to  engage  for  service  in  Alaska  when  Siberia  and  the  Amur 
offered  so  many  better  opportunities.  The  men  who  did  come 
were  in  large  part  worthless.  New  international  problems  were 
coming  up.  The  Crimean  War  demonstrated  that  Russia  was 
not  in  a  position  to  defend  the  colonies  from  an  enemy  unless  she 
possessed  a  navy.  If  some  agreement  had  not  been  reached  as 
to  the  neutralization  of  Alaska,  England  would  have  captured 
it  without  any  difficulty  in  1854.  There  was  also  the  financial 
question.  The  government  stood  back  of  the  company  and  had 
to  protect  its  credit  by  advancing  loans  to  pay  its  bills.  These 
were  some  of  the  considerations  the  Russian  statesmen  had  to 
take  into  account  when  a  request  was  made  for  a  fourth  charter. 
Before  this  was  granted  a  committee  was  ordered  to  Alaska  to 
make  a  report,  which  report  did  not  promise  much  for  the  future 
of  the  territory.  The  government  realized  that  the  only  sensible 
thing  to  do  with  its  American  possession  was  to  get  rid  of  it. 
Even  before  1860  it  was  proposed  to  sell  it  to  the  United  States, 
but  the  war  interfered.  As  soon  as  peace  was  declared  the 
proposition  was  taken  up  again  and  successfully  carried  through. 
It  was  either  getting  a  little  money  out  of  it  or  sinking  more  in  it. 
But  it  was  not  so  much  a  matter  of  money,  for  Russia  was  ready 
to  take  much  less  than  she  actually  received,  as  international  con¬ 
siderations,  which  led  to  the  sale  of  the  territory.  It  was  feared 
that  sooner  or  later  Alaska  would  become  the  source  of  misun¬ 
derstanding  between  Russia  and  the  United  States,  friends  of 
long  standing. 

In  a  letter  to  the  minister  of  finance  written  by  Stoeckl,  the 


274 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Russian  minister  in  Washington,  a  number  of  reasons  are  given 
why  the  sale  was  necessary. 

1.  With  the  exception  of  England  every  European  nation, 
that  at  one  time  or  other  had  acquired  colonies  in  America,  has  lost 
them.  England  still  retains  Canada  but  it  is  only  a  matter  of 
years  before  that  territory  will  become  independent.  If  all  these 
nations  could  not  hold  their  colonies,  it  is  not  likely  that  Russia 
will  be  able  to  keep  Alaska  indefinitely. 

2.  In  case  of  war  Russia  is  in  no  position  to  defend  her  American 
territory.  To  be  obliged  to  protect  the  large  stretch  of  American 
coast  would  be  a  source  of  weakness. 

3.  The  ports  of  Alaska  are  closed  to  American  shipping.  If  the 
government  of  the  United  States  should  retaliate  by  closing  the 
Pacific  coast  markets  to  Russian  vessels  the  Alaskan  trade  would 
be  badly  affected.  Should  Alaska  be  thrown  open  to  the  Yankees 
they  would  soon  exhaust  it.  If  they  close  their  ports  to  us  we 
are  lost ;  if  we  open  ours  to  them  we  are  equally  lost. 

4.  The  American  people  believe  that  it  is  their  “manifest 
destiny”  to  expand  on  the  Pacific  coast.  From  Mexico  they  have 
taken  Texas  and  California.  They  are  increasing  very  rapidly  in 
the  Northwest  and  on  the  Pacific,  and  very  soon  they  will  be  clam¬ 
oring  for  Alaska.  It  will  take  a  large  fleet  to  keep  them  out. 
Should  gold  be  discovered,  then  neither  army  nor  fleet  could  keep 
them  away.  It  might  even  bring  about  war  with  the  United 
States.  By  handing  the  territory  to  the  United  States  we  bind 
that  nation  in  friendship  to  us.  Russia,  too,  has  her  manifest 
destiny,  but  it  is  on  the  other  side  of  the  Pacific,  along  the  Amur. 
Our  men  and  resources  are  needed  there  and  should  not  be  wasted 
in  America. 

5.  From  the  very  beginning  Alaska  has  brought  nothing  but 
embarrassment,  diplomatic  complications,  financial  sacrifices 
and  loss  in  men.  If  Russia  should  keep  it  there  would  be  more 
trouble  and  additional  sacrifices.  Is  Alaska  worth  the  price? 
Looking  at  the  matter  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  good  of  Russia 
we  must  answer  in  the  negative. 

In  this  sketch  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  show  that  from 
the  time  of  Catherine  to  the  sale  of  Alaska  that  territory  was  a 
burden  on  the  shoulders  of  Russia.  From  a  little  baby  elephant 


RUSSIA  AND  ALASKA 


275 


it  had  grown  into  a  huge  beast,  becoming  each  year  more  difficult 
to  manage.  The  government  did  not  always  publicly  acknowledge 
this  fact  but  it  was  true  nevertheless.  Russia  came  into  posses¬ 
sion  of  Alaska  accidentally ;  it  never  really  needed  or  desired  that 
territory.  The  expansion  of  the  American  people  on  the  Pacific, 
with  their  ideas  of  “manifest  destiny,”  with  their  energy  and 
resourcefulness,  made  it  clear  to  Russian  statesmen  that  Alaska 
would  soon  become  a  bone  of  contention  between  the  two  nations. 
Not  to  have  misunderstandings  with  the  United  States,  whose 
friendship  was  much  to  be  desired,  coupled  with  economic  reasons, 
caused  Russia  to  sell  Alaska. 


THE  FUR  TRADE  IN  NORTHWESTERN  DEVELOPMENT 


F.  W.  Howay 

The  Northwest  maritime  fur  trade  owed  its  origin  to  an  acci¬ 
dent  ;  but  the  Northwestern  land  fur  trade  originated  in  design. 
The  former,  growing  out  of  Captain  Cook’s  third  voyage,  was  the 
legitimate  successor  of  the  search  for  the  Strait  of  Anian  in  the 
development  of  our  knowledge  of  the  coast.  The  latter  did  not 
come  into  being  until  twenty  years  after  the  inception  of  its 
maritime  predecessor,  the  best  days  of  which  had  by  that  time 
disappeared.  The  maritime  fur  trade  consisted  of  a  mere  series 
of  individual  efforts  and  contained  all  the  elements  of  weakness 
incident  to  such  undertakings;  the  land  fur  trade,  on  the  other 
hand,  so  far  at  least  as  the  territory  west  of  the  Rockies  was 
concerned,  was  carried  on  in  a  systematic  way  by  large  corpo¬ 
rations  or  organizations. 

Except  for  a  few  spasmodic  efforts  - —  the  mere  Bickerings  of  the 
dying  candle  —  the  maritime  fur  trade  lasted  but  twenty-five  or 
thirty  years.  Originally  devoted  entirely  to  the  collecting  of 
sea-otter  skins,  its  scope  was  soon  enlarged  to  include  first,  the  fur- 
seal  and,  later,  beaver,  marten,  and  the  furs  of  almost  every  kind 
of  animal  to  be  found  on  the  coast.  Ginseng  was  not  overlooked  ; 
sandalwood  from  the  Pacific  islands  was  added  to  the  trade ; 
and  towards  the  end  even  the  whale  fishery  was  combined  with  it. 
Though  this  ephemeral  and  strangely  diversified  trade  was,  in 
reality,  merely  a  looting  of  the  coast,  it  was  not  entirely  devoid 
of  collateral  results.  It  established  our  earliest  direct  commer¬ 
cial  relations  with  Hawaii  and  the  Far  East ;  it  gave  to  us  our  first 
Oriental  laborers,  —  only  temporarily  it  is  true,  but  yet  important 
as  being  the  first  meeting  of  those  races  which  centuries  before  had 
separated  on  the  table-lands  of  Asia;  it  disclosed  vaguely  and 
indistinctly  the  outlines  of  our  irregular  coast  from  the  mouth  of 

276 


FUR  TRADE  IN  NORTHWESTERN  DEVELOPMENT  277 


the  Columbia  to  Cook’s  Inlet ;  and  it  gave  to  Eastern  lands  a 
momentary  vision  of  the  wondrous  wealth  of  this  Western  world. 

But,  from  its  very  nature  and  the  secrecy  and  spirit  of  rivalry 
which  permeated  it,  no  continuous  or  systematic  development 
could  be  expected.  The  English  who  were  engaged  in  it  found 
themselves  hampered  by  the  monopolies  of  the  South  Sea  and 
East  India  companies,  which  placed  them  at  a  disadvantage  in 
the  struggle.  And  even  the  Boston  merchants,  into  whose  hands 
the  trade  gradually  fell,  did  not,  individually,  prosecute  it  for  any 
length  of  time.  Three  or  four  years  usually  sufficed.  The  waste¬ 
ful  competition,  the  uncertainty  of  the  markets,  the  strange  and 
expensive  restrictions  imposed  by  the  Chinese,  and  the  inability 
from  lack  of  capital  to  hold  their  stocks  of  furs  for  more  favorable 
conditions,  were  the  strongest  factors  in  effecting  this  result. 

None  of  these  maritime  traders  attempted  to  make  a  settlement 
on  our  coast ;  not  one  of  them  erected  a  permanent  habitation. 
The  King  George’s  Sound  Company,  which,  under  licences  from 
the  South  Sea  Company  and  the  East  India  Company,  operated 
four  vessels  in  1786-88,  contemplated  the  erection  of  trading 
posts  or  factories,  as  they  were  called,  which  would,  besides  being 
epoch-making,  have  given  an  element  of  stability  and  permanence 
to  its  undertaking.  Instructions  to  this  effect  were  given  to  Cap¬ 
tains  Portlock  and  Dixon,  who  commanded  the  first  expedition. 
In  the  heated  discussion  between  Meares  and  Dixon,  which  fol¬ 
lowed  the  publication  of  the  former’s  mendacious  volume,  he  took 
occasion  to  jeer  at  Dixon  for  his  failure  to  obey  his  orders.  Meares 
himself  alleges,  and  in  this  case  with  apparent  truthfulness,  that 
he  intended  in  1789,  the  year  of  the  seizure  of  his  vessels,  to 
found  a  trading  post  at  Nootka  to  be  known  as  Fort  Pitt.  Cap¬ 
tain  William  Brown,  who  in  1792  and  1793  commanded  an  expe¬ 
dition  of  three  ships  engaged  in  this  trade,  had  instructions,  also, 
to  form  two  establishments  on  the  coast  and  another  on  the  Queen 
Charlotte  Islands.  In  this  instance  the  orders  were  likewise 
unaccountably  disobeyed.  Whatever  the  explanation  may  be, 
the  fact  remains  that,  though  contemplated  on  these  three  occa¬ 
sions,  at  least,  nothing  tangible  was  actually  accomplished.  Small 
houses  were  indeed  erected  in  a  number  of  cases,  as  for  instance 
by  Meares  at  Nootka  when  building  the  North  West  America  and 


278 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


by  Gray  at  Clayoquot  when  building  the  Adventure,  but  these 
were  merely  temporary  quarters  ancillary  to  those  particular 
undertakings. 

As  the  maritime  traders  pass  off  the  page  of  history  we  admit 
our  indebtedness  to  them  for  increased  knowledge  of  our  coast 
geography  and  for  a  fleeting  glance  at  the  rich  possibilities  en¬ 
wrapped  in  our  future,  but  at  the  same  time  we  realize  that  they 
utterly  failed  to  take  advantage  of  their  opportunities  or  to  leave 
one  mark  of  civilization  within  our  borders. 

The  Astoria  venture  stands  in  an  unique  position.  It  marks 
the  transition  stage.  As  the  scheme  was  launched  it  was  a  com¬ 
bination  of  land  fur  trade  and  maritime  fur  trade.  The  details 
of  its  plan  are  trite.  Yet  strangely  enough  so  much  stress  has 
been  laid  upon  the  formation  of  the  central  depot  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia  with  auxiliary  trading  posts  on  the  main  stream 
and  branches  of  that  river  and  the  Missouri,  and  upon  the  annual 
ship,  which,  bringing  out  the  trading  goods,  should  sail  to  China 
with  the  collected  furs,  that  the  fact  that  it  included  also  the 
prosecution  of  the  maritime  trade  has  been  lost  to  view.  Irving, 
however,  tells  us  that  as  part  of  this  gigantic,  but  ill-starred,  scheme, 
“  Coasting  craft  would  be  built  and  fitted  out  also,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia,  to  trade  at  favorable  seasons  all  along  the  North¬ 
west  Coast  and  return  with  the  proceeds  of  their  voyages  to  this 
place  of  deposit.”  The  little  schooner  Dolly  which  was  brought 
out  in  frame  was  to  carry  on  this  work,  and  it  is  well  known  that 
the  Tonquin  was  engaged  in  this  coast  trade  when  she  was  pillaged 
and  destroyed  with  all  her  crew  by  the  Indians  at  Clayoquot 
Sound,  Vancouver  Island. 

Astoria  became  by  purchase  in  1813  the  property  of  the  North 
West  Company  of  Montreal,  a  very  energetic  organization,  that 
from  1805  had  been  gradually  extending  its  trade  along  the  Fraser 
and  the  Columbia.  That  company  did  not  view  with  a  sym¬ 
pathetic  e  \  e  the  maritime  trade,  which  was  quite  foreign  to  its 
genius.  It  was  managed  and  drew  its  supplies  of  men  very  largely 
from  the  Province  of  Quebec,  whence  expert  boat  and  canoe 
men  and  robust  and  hardy  voyageurs  could  be  obtained,  but 
which  was  not  capable  of  supplying  trained  and  skilled  seamen. 
An  effort  was  indeed  made,  as  Alexander  Ross  informs  us,  to  fol- 


FUR  TRADE  IN  NORTHWESTERN  DEVELOPMENT  279 


low  Astor’s  idea  of  wresting  the  coast  trade  from  the  Boston  ves¬ 
sels,  but  it  ended  in  lamentable  failure  and  the  Nor’  Westers  aban¬ 
doned  that  trade  to  their  rivals.  They  nevertheless  continued 
the  remainder  of  thfe  Astoria  scheme  to  which  they  had,  so  to 
speak,  become  entitled  by  their  purchase.  For  three  years,  1814, 
1815,  and  1816,  ships  sent  from  England  deposited  at  the  Colum¬ 
bia  mouth,  Astoria  by  them  being  renamed  Fort  George,  the 
annual  supply  of  trading  goods,  and,  having  taken  on  board  the 
furs  collected  during  the  preceding  season,  sailed  therewith  for 
Canton.  In  actual  operation  this  portion  of  the  “golden  round” 
was  found  to  be  expensive  and  unproductive  in  consequence  of 
the  restriction  of  British  subjects  from  trading  in  China  except 
under  license  from  the  East  India  Company,  inasmuch  as  that 
company  refused  to  permit  the  North  West  Company’s  vessels 
to  take  return  cargoes  of  tea.  To  escape  this  loss,  arrangements 
were  made  with  Boston  merchants  (who,  of  course,  were  not 
subject  to  that  monopoly)  whereby  the  whole  transport  to  and 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  was  carried  on  by  American 
vessels.  Thus  the  steady  interchange  of  products  between 
newest  West  and  oldest  East,  begun  by  the  maritime  traders,  was 
continued  under  the  North  West  Company  regime. 

In  carrying  on  their  trade  the  Nor’  Westers  —  “the  Lords  of 
the  Lakes  and  Forests,”  as  Washington  Irving  has  called  them, 
following  the  line  of  least  resistance,  always  clung  closely  to  the 
natural  waterways  or  to  the  Indian  trails.  All  of  us  have  in 
memory’s  storehouse,  as  a  result  of  our  early  reading,  vivid  pic¬ 
tures  of  the  North  West  brigade  of  deeply  laden  canoes  manned  by 
sturdy  voyageurs,  bedizened  with  many-colored  ribbons  sweeping 
along  the  narrow  willow-embroidered  streams  of  the  interior,  and 
making  the  neighboring  hills  reecho  with  “En  roulant  ma  boule” 
or  other  French-Canadian  chansons.  It  was  no  part  of  that  com¬ 
pany’s  policy  to  build  roads  or  trails,  to  improve  communications, 
or,  generally  speaking,  to  employ  in  short  transportation  any 
beast  of  burden  but  man.  Even  along  the  main  line  of  travel  but 
little  effort  was  made  to  ameliorate  conditions.  Like  the  stolid 
Indian,  they  seemed  to  think  it  beneath  them  to  remove  any 
natural  obstruction  which  they  might  encounter. 

At  their  trading  posts,  pemmican,  that  indescribable  compound 


280 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


of  buffalo  meat,  grease,  and  berries,  was  the  staple  food ;  but  the 
policy  of  the  company  was  to  make  its  servants  live,  as  Napoleon 
thought  the  army  should,  off  the  country  occupied.  Soon  after 
the  Nor’  Westers  gained  a  foothold  west  of  the  Rockies  we  find 
in  the  vicinity  of  their  posts  the  first  rude  attempts  at  horticulture. 
Harmon,  who  was  in  charge  at  Fort  St.  James  on  Stuart  Lake,  in 
northern  British  Columbia,  writes  under  date  May  21,  1811 : 
“  As  the  frost  is  now  out  of  the  ground  we  have  planted  our  pota¬ 
toes,  and  sowed  barley,  turnips,  etc.,  which  are  the  first  that  we 
ever  sowed  on  this  western  side  of  the  mountains.” 

Soon  every  post  where  conditions  permitted  had  its  garden  pro¬ 
viding  a  portion  of  the  food  of  the  establishment.  The  forests, 
the  lakes,  and  the  rivers  were  all  laid  under  tribute,  but  only  to 
furnish  provisions  for  the  same  purpose.  No  thought  of  devel¬ 
oping  any  of  the  natural  resources  entered  into  the  Nor’  Westers’ 
plans.  In  this  connection  it  must  not  be  overlooked  that  from 
1811  to  1813  the  company  was  engaged  in  the  struggle  with  Astor, 
and  from  the  latter  date  until  1821  went  on  the  keen  and  bitter 
strife  with  the  Hudson’s  Bay  Company.  Thus  the  whole  energy 
of  the  company  was  fully  engrossed,  and  no  opportunity  was 
offered  to  consider  expansion  along  other  lines. 

To  the  Hudson’s  Bay  Company,  the  great  rival  of  the  Nor’ 
Westers,  the  region  west  of  the  Rockies  was  for  a  century  and  a 
half  a  veritable  terra  incognita.  With  the  single  exception  of  the 
sortie  made  by  Joseph  Howse  in  1810,  no  Hudson’s  Bay  trader 
crossed  that  great  range  until  after  the  union  in  1821.  George 
Simpson,  the  dominating  figure  in  the  fur-trade  for  forty  years, 
arrived  in  les  pays  d’en  haut  in  1821  to  take  charge  of  the  Hud¬ 
son’s  Bay  Company’s  business  in  Athabasca.  Knowing  that  he 
had  been  trained  in  a  counting-house  and  had  no  practical  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  fur-trade,  the  wintering  partners  of  the  North  West 
Company  regarded  him  with  a  scarcely  veiled  contempt.  Wentzel 
gave  expression  to  this  feeling  when  he  described  him  as  a  stranger 
and  a  gentlemanly  man,  and  ventured  the  opinion  “that  he  will 
not  create  much  alarm,  nor  do  I  presume  him  formidable  as  an 
Indian  trader.”  Simpson  became  the  official  head,  on  this  conti¬ 
nent,  of  the  united  companies,  which  from  motives  of  policy 
retained  the  name  of  the  Hudson’s  Bay  Company.  The  new 


FUR  TRADE  IN  NORTHWESTERN  DEVELOPMENT  281 


concern,  as  Edward  Ellice  stated  in  his  evidence  before  the  Par¬ 
liamentary  Committee  in  1857,  was  “in  fact  more  a  Canadian 
than  an  English  Company  in  its  origin”;  that  is  to  say,  as  Dr. 
Bryce  expresses  it,  it  was  the  fusion  of  the  stability  of  the  English 
company  and  the  energy  of  the  Canadian  combination.  The 
new  governor  soon  made  his  power  felt.  King  Log  became  King 
Stork.  Within  three  years  Wentzel  acknowledged  his  prophecy 
to  be  at  fault:  “the  North  West  is  now  beginning  to  be  ruled,” 
says  he,  “with  a  rod  of  iron.” 

The  union  having  brought  industrial  peace,  Simpson  set  him¬ 
self  to  the  systematic  up-building  of  the  fur-trade  and  the  devel¬ 
opment  of  subsidiary  operations.  Six  trading  posts  on  the  Colum¬ 
bia  and  seven  on  the  Fraser  then  existed,  representing  the  results 
achieved  by  the  North  West  Company  in  fifteen  years.  Arriv¬ 
ing  on  the  Pacific  coast  in  1824,  Simpson  found  the  coast  trade 
practically  monopolized  by  itinerant  trading  vessels.  He  deter¬ 
mined  upon  an  energetic  policy  —  the  driving  of  these  maritime 
traders  from  the  field  and  the  complete  control  of  the  trade  of  the 
whole  coast  from  San  Francisco  to  the  frozen  North.  The  first 
hint  of  this  policy  was  given  in  the  winter  of  1824,  when  the  ex¬ 
amination  of  the  lower  Fraser  was  undertaken  by  McMillan,  not 
only  to  select  a  site  for  a  coast  trading  post,  but  also  to  ascertain 
the  latent  possibilities  of  the  region  in  agriculture  and  in  the 
fishery.  Three  years  later  —  for  the  company  moved  slowly, 
all  its  undertakings  requiring  the  formal  approval  of  the  council 
of  chief  factors  at  Norway  House  —  Fort  Langley  was  built. 
Pending  the  erection  of  other  trading  posts  to  the  northward,  the 
nucleus  of  a  fleet  to  compete  for  the  coast  trade  was  organized, 
the  Cadboro  and  the  Vancouver,  soon  to  be  followed  by  the  Llama, 
the  Dryad,  and,  last  and  best  known,  the  historic  steamer  Beaver. 
Then  came  a  period  of  strenuous  effort  both  on  land  and  sea. 
Having  in  1830  established  Fort  Simpson  on  the  coast,  at  the 
northern  fringe  of  British  Columbia,  to  intercept  not  only  the 
maritime  trade,  but  also  that  carried  on  by  Russia  on  the  lisiere 
defined  in  the  treaties  of  1824  and  1825,  it  was  determined  to 
build  a  trading  post  beyond  the  limits  of  the  coastal  strip  to  cut 
off  the  trade  of  the  interior.  In  1833  Peter  Skene  Ogden  examined 
the  Stikine  River  for  the  site  of  such  a  post.  No  objection  was 


282 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


made  by  the  Russian  American  Company,  but  when,  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  May,  Ogden  arrived  with  men  and  materials  to  carry  the 
project  into  execution,  the  Russians,  in  breach  of  the  treaty, 
prevented  him  by  force  from  navigating  the  river  across  the  ten- 
marine-league  strip.  In  the  same  year  Fort  McLoughlin  was 
built  on  Milbank  Sound,  further  to  the  southward,  to  compete 
with  the  trading  vessels.  The  Cadboro,  the  Vancouver,  and  the 
Dryad  were  kept  constantly  along  the  northern  coast  to  increase 
the  opposition.  To  prevent  the  trade  of  the  hinterland  from 
reaching  either  the  American  trading  vessels  or  the  Russian  posts, 
the  company  made  its  way  into  northwestern  British  Columbia, 
that  vast  alpine  region  where,  amid  lakes  and  mountains,  nature 
reigns  in  loneliness  and  cloud.  In  1834,  the  very  year  of  Ogden’s 
unsuccessful  efforts,  McLeod  examined  and  explored  the  head¬ 
waters  of  the  Stikine,  and  shortly  afterwards  Robert  Campbell 
established  a  post  of  the  company  on  Dease  Lake. 

Out  of  the  unlawful  prevention  of  Ogden’s  venture  grew  a 
claim  for  damages  against  the  Russian  company,  which  was  ulti¬ 
mately  settled  in  1839  by  the  grant  of  a  lease  of  the  strip  of  Alaskan 
territory  from  54°  40'  to  Mount  Fairweather,  together  with  all 
the  Russian  establishments  within  those  limits.  But  in  the 
meantime  the  company’s  efforts  had  been  so  successful  that  the 
trading  vessels  had  abandoned  the  struggle.  Thus  by  1839  the 
company  was  in  practically  undisputed  control  of  the  fur  trade 
from  the  Rockies  to  the  coast  and  from  San  Francisco  to  the 
60th  parallel  of  latitude. 

But  Governor  Simpson’s  policy  extended  beyond  the  mere 
absorption  of  that  trade.  He  was  not  content  to  make  the  land 
support  the  trading  ports  as  his  predecessors  had  done.  The 
resources  of  the  country  having  been  searched  out  and  examined, 
he  proceeded  to  exploit  them,  to  build  up  new  industries,  and 
establish  new  lines  of  trade.  In  this  connection  it  must  be  re¬ 
membered  that  the  chartered  rights  of  the  Hudson’s  Bay  Com¬ 
pany  only  existed  east  of  the  Rockies.  There  it  held  the  exclusive 
trade  and  the  territorial  lordship  of  the  vaguely  defined  Rupert’s 
Land  and  the  still  vaguer  grant  of  the  trade  of  all  regions  to  which 
access  from  Rupert’s  Land  might  be  found  by  water.  West  of 
that  great  range  in  the  Oregon  Territory,  as  the  region  was  after- 


FUR  TRADE  IN  NORTHWESTERN  DEVELOPMENT  283 


wards  known,  the  company  had  no  rights  whatever  until  after  the 
union  of  1821.  There,  it  was  (except  after  1849  as  regards  Van¬ 
couver  Island)  a  mere  trading  corporation  having  no  proprietor¬ 
ship,  no  lordship  of  the  soil,  nothing  but  a  mere  revocable  license 
of  exclusive  trade  with  the  Indians.  This  monopoly  was  only 
valid  against  British  subjects.  It  did  not  confer  nor  attempt  to 
confer  any  rights  whatever  as  regards  other  nationalities.  Con¬ 
sequently,  in  the  branching  out  into  the  various  lines  of  develop¬ 
ment  of  natural  resources  the  company  was  only  exercising  a  right 
open  to  every  other  person  or  corporation  that  might  desire  to 
exercise  it. 

The  small  gardens  of  the  Nor’  Westers  now  expanded  into  a 
semblance  of  farming.  The  first  rude  attempts  at  agriculture  in 
New  Caledonia,  —  the  interior  of  British  Columbia,  —  were  made 
in  1830.  In  McLean’s  Twenty-five  Years  in  Hudson’s  Bay 
Territory,  he  says:  “To  Mr.  Dease,  however,  the  praise  is  due 
of  having  introduced  this  new  order  of  things;  he  it  was  who 
first  introduced  cattle  from  Fort  Vancouver;  it  was  he  who  first 
introduced  farming  and  recommended  it  to  others.”  In  a  letter 
preserved  in  the  Archives  of  British  Columbia,1  Dr.  McLoughlin 
gives  the  motives  which  induced  him  to  take  this  course,  not  only 
in  British  Columbia,  but  also  throughout  the  whole  of  his  king¬ 
dom.  “If  it  had  not  been  for  the  great  expense  of  importing  flour 
from  Europe,  the  serious  injury  it  received  on  the  voyage,  and  the 
absolute  necessity  of  being  independent  of  the  Indians  for  provi¬ 
sions,  I  would  never  have  encouraged  farming  in  this  country,  but 
it  was  impossible  to  carry  on  the  trade  without  it.”  Wheat  was 
raised  in  the  Columbia  River  region  and  in  central  and  northern 
British  Columbia  even  as  far  as  Fort  Alexandria  in  Latitude  52° 
33',  where  forty  bushels  to  the  acre  and  of  the  finest  quality  were 
obtained.  In  that  inaccessible  interior  this  was  converted  into 
flour  for  the  use  of  the  post,  by  means  of  a  small  mill  operated  by 
horses.  As  the  farming  operations  increased,  a  good  market  for 
the  surplus  product  was  found  in  the  men-of-war  on  the  coast  and 
in  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  Herds  of  cattle  and  sheep  were  reared 
for  the  support  of  the  posts,  but  this  industry  soon  exceeded  the 

1  This  letter  has  since  been  published.  It  will  be  found  in  The  American  His¬ 
torical  Review  for  October,  1915. 


284 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


requirements  of  the  company  and  the  surplus  found  its  way  to  the 
same  markets.  To  handle  this  business  to  advantage  the  com¬ 
pany  was  compelled  to  extend  its  operations  beyond  the  confines 
of  this  continent  and  establish  a  trading  post  on  the  Hawaiian 
Islands. 

The  terms  of  the  lease  arranged  with  the  Russian  American 
Company  in  1839  required  the  Hudson’s  Bay  Company  to  supply 
annually  eight  tons  of  flour,  six  and  a  half  tons  of  peas,  six  and  a 
half  tons  of  grits  and  hulled  barley,  fifteen  tons  of  salt  beef,  eight 
tons  of  butter,  and  one  and  a  half  tons  of  ham.  The  prices  agreed 
upon  were  such  that  the  company  could  not  afford  to  import 
these  goods,  but  must  obtain  them  upon  this  coast.  At  the  out¬ 
set  the  Columbia  River  and  Puget  Sound  districts  furnished  these 
supplies,  but  political  reasons  soon  led  the  company  to  develop 
farming  on  a  large  scale  in  British  Columbia,  at  Fort  Langley  and 
Fort  Victoria.  In  the  end  this  branch  of  industry  became  so 
extensive  and  required  so  much  capital  that  a  subsidiary  corpo¬ 
ration,  known  as  the  Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Company,  was 
formed  to  carry  it  on. 

The  determination  of  Governor  Simpson  to  employ  horses  to 
transport  the  trading  goods  and  furs  from  Fort  Okanogan  on  the 
Columbia  to  Fort  Alexandria  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Fraser 
made  it  necessary  for  the  company,  following  its  avowed  policy 
of  being  independent  of  the  Indian  support,  to  enter  largely  into 
stock-raising.  Horses  were  also  employed  in  the  transport  be¬ 
tween  Fort  Kamloops  and  Forts  Yale  and  Hope.  At  Fort  Alex¬ 
andria  a  herd  of  about  two  hundred  horses  was  maintained,  while 
in  the  vicinity  of  Kamloops,  for  many  years,  the  company’s  band 
numbered  between  five  and  six  hundred.  This  form  of  land 
conveyance  was  known  as  the  horse  brigade.  In  connection 
therewith  the  company  built  trails  through  the  interior  of  British 
Columbia,  —  the  brigade  trails,  as  they  were  called  —  which 
later  served  as  means  of  communication  for  the  early  settlers. 

The  wealth  of  the  waters  was  not  overlooked.  No  longer  was 
the  trader  satisfied  to  regard  it  merely  as  a  source  of  the  food 
supply  of  the  post ;  the  possibility  of  curing  fish  in  sufficient  quan¬ 
tities  to  establish  it  as  a  part  of  an  export  trade  was  constantly  in 
mind.  At  Nanaimo  great  quantities  of  herring  were  caught  and 


FUR  TRADE  IN  NORTHWESTERN  DEVELOPMENT  285 


salted  for  the  use  of  the  company’s  posts,  but,  so  far  as  my 
research  has  extended,  no  record  exists  of  any  export.  Archibald 
McDonald  tells  us  that  when  he  arrived  to  take  charge  of  Fort 
Langley  in  September,  1828,  less  than  a  year  after  its  inception,  he 
found  in  the  provision  shed,  besides  other  supplies,  three  thousand 
dried  salmon  and  sixteen  tierces  of  salted  salmon.  The  produc¬ 
tion  increased  annually.  Governor  Simpson,  writing  in  November, 
1841,  says  that  Langley,  after  supplying  itself  and  the  other  posts, 
had  some  four  hundred  barrels  of  salted  salmon  for  export.  In 
1840,  when  James  Douglas  was  examining  the  northern  waters  for 
a  fort  site,  he  noted  the  abundance  of  excellent  salmon,  and  in  his 
report  mentions  the  possibility  of  developing  a  valuable  auxiliary 
business  therefrom.  Later  in  the  same  document,  in  dealing  with 
the  prospects  of  Fort  Stikine,  one  of  the  northern  posts,  he  says : 
“  If  barrels  could  be  provided,  one  hundred  tierces  of  salmon 
might  be  cured  annually  at  this  place,  for  exportation,  in  addition 
to  the  quantity  required  for  its  own  consumption.”  From  San 
Juan  Island  alone,  the  company  for  many  years  exported  from 
two  thousand  to  three  thousand  barrels  of  salted  salmon. 

Meares  was  the  first  to  recognize  the  great  possibilities  of  our 
lumber  resources.  In  1788,  if  he  is  to  be  believed,  he  shipped 
some  spars  to  China,  the  first  export  of  timber  from  the  northwest 
coast.  From  that  time  the  trade  lay  dormant  until  after  the 
advent  of  the  Hudson’s  Bay  Company.  Within  the  area  now 
known  as  British  Columbia  small  mills  were  established,  notably 
at  Victoria  and  Nanaimo,  but  these  were  entirely  for  the  com¬ 
pany’s  own  purposes.  From  the  Columbia  River  sawn  lumber 
was  manufactured  and  shipped  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

In  1835  coal  was  discovered  by  the  officers  of  the  Hudson’s 
Bay  Company  at  Suquash,  on  the  northern  end  of  Vancouver 
Island.  This  important  event  synchronized  with  the  arrival  of 
the  celebrated  steamer  Beaver,  the  first  steam  vessel  on  the  Pacific. 
The  earliest  coal  mining,  if  it  can  be  dignified  by  that  name,  was 
done  for  the  company  by  the  Indians  in  that  vicinity.  On  one 
occasion,  with  hatchets  and  other  primitive  and  unsuitable  imple¬ 
ments,  the  natives  procured  about  ninety  tons  in  a  few  days.  The 
company  was  also  aware  of  the  coal  beds  of  Puget  Sound ;  and, 
from  1845,  when  that  indefatigable  traveller  Father  DeSmet 


286 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


passed  through  the  Kootenay  region,  the  existence  of  the  now 
famous  Crow’s  Nest  Pass  coal  fields  was  known.  It  was  not, 
however,  until  the  company  obtained  its  grant  of  Vancouver 
Island  that  any  real  attempt  was  made  to  mine  coal  in  this  coun¬ 
try,  and  this  was  done,  not  as  a  subsidiary  undertaking  to  that  of 
fur  trading,  but  as  a  part  of  a  colonization  scheme. 

In  conclusion,  let  us  add  a  word  in  reference  to  that  necessity 
of  modern  life,  the  postal  service.  The  annual  brigades  of  the 
fur  companies  furnished  to  the  resident  traders  the  only  means  of 
communication  with  the  outside  world.  We  have  here  the  germ 
of  our  express  and  post-office.  How  eagerly  these  opportunities 
were  seized,  how  anxiously  they  were  looked  for,  how  proficient 
these  traders  became  in  the  art  of  letter-writing  the  few  remains 
of  their  correspondence  which  have  come  down  to  us  bear  eloquent 
witness.  For  some  time  these  facilities  were  extended  to  strangers, 
free  of  charge,  but  in  June,  1845,  the  council  at  Norway  House 
decreed  that  postage  on  letters  should  be  charged  west  of  the 
Rockies.  Letters  to  and  from  the  Columbia  River  region  not 
exceeding  half  an  ounce  were  to  be  transmitted  for  one  dollar, 
with  a  further  charge  of  twenty-five  cents  for  every  succeeding 
half  ounce. 

And  here  let  us  leave  the  subject,  but  in  so  doing  it  must  be 
remarked  that  in  the  economic  development  of  this  western  land 
the  fur  trader  had  his  part ;  a  small  one,  it  is  true,  and  yet  an  im¬ 
portant  one,  as  we  have  endeavored  to  show,  in  that  he  not  only 
ascertained  its  possibilities  in  many  ways  and  the  existence 
of  theretofore  unknown  natural  wealth,  but  also,  especially  in  the 
case  of  the  Hudson’s  Bay  Company,  made  a  beginning  in  their 
exploitation,  and  thus  pointed  out  to  the  home-builder,  who  in 
the  natural  evolution  must  follow  him,  the  paths  which  have  led 
us  to  the  proud  position  of  to-day. 


THE  WESTERN  OCEAN  AS  A  DETERMINANT  IN 
OREGON  HISTORY 


Joseph  Schafer 

The  doctrine  that  maritime  influence  is  central  among  historical 
forces  receives  vindication  from  the  annals  of  the  Pacific  North¬ 
west.  That  section,  which  in  one  view  of  its  history  simply 
illustrates  well  understood  principles  and  processes  of  westward 
expansion,  represents  in  other  aspects  new  if  not  unique  fea¬ 
tures  traceable  to  the  presence  and  potency  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean. 

The  states  of  the  Pacific  Northwest  are  American  made,  like 
those  of  other  great  sections ;  the  region  was  explored,  exploited, 
and  settled  from  the  more  easterly  portions  of  the  country,  as  were 
the  Old  Northwest,  the  Old  Southwest,  and  the  trans-Mississippi 
states.  Theoretically,  there  is  no  essential  difference  between 
the  American  occupation  of  Ohio  or  of  Iowa,  and  the  American 
occupation  of  Oregon. 

And  yet,  a  little  reflection  will  suggest  that  there  is  a  difference, 
fundamental  in  character.  The  older  West  presents  no  story  of 
exploration  even  remotely  like  that  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  with  the 
single  exception  of  the  story  of  La  Salle.  Aside  from  the  intrepid 
Frenchman  again,  whose  plans  all  went  awry,  no  one  even  pro¬ 
jected  a  system  of  exploitation  like  that  which  is  illustrated  by 
the  developed  Columbia  River  fur  trade.  The  history  of  emigra¬ 
tion  by  the  primitive  process  of  crossing  land  spaces  with  the  use 
of  wagon  and  team,  while  already  old  in  1843,  attains  a  develop¬ 
ment  in  the  migration  to  Oregon  which  gives  that  process  a  new 
meaning  in  the  social  life  of  the  nation. 

Turning  now  to  the  history  of  exploration,  we  are  met  at  the 
outset  by  the  well  attested  statement  that  the  Lewis  and  Clark 
expedition  was  Jefferson’s  idea.  But  when  we  are  variously 

287 


288 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


assured  that  Jefferson’s  motives  in  sending  the  expedition  forth 
were  (1)  to  learn  the  character  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  (2)  to 
make  treaties  with  the  Missouri  River  tribes  of  Indians,  (3)  to 
enrich  science,  (4)  to  extend  the  potential  sweep  of  American 
institutions  and  American  ideals  of  liberty,  (5)  to  checkmate  the 
plans  of  political  opponents  like  Britain  and  France,  (6)  to  find 
a  water  communication  to  the  Pacific  for  purposes  of  trade  —  we 
are  naturally  curious  to  know  where  the  stress  is  to  be  placed  in 
evaluating  these  several  promptings  to  action. 

In  his  secret  message  to  Congress,  January  18,  1803,  in  which  the 
expedition  was  first  broached,  Jefferson  said:  “The  interests 
of  commerce  place  the  principal  object  [of  the  expedition]  within 
the  constitutional  powers  and  care  of  Congress,  and  that  it  should 
incidentally  advance  the  geographical  knowledge  of  our  own  con¬ 
tinent  cannot  but  be  an  additional  gratification.”  He  had  spoken 
of  a  possible  commerce  which  should  divert  through  the  United 
States  the  existing  trade  of  the  Missouri  tribes  with  the  English 
in  Canada,  and  possibly  extend  by  way  of  the  Missouri  and  another 
river  with  but  a  single  portage  “to  the  Western  Ocean,”  which  was 
the  goal  of  the  expedition  as  conceived  by  him  at  that  early  date. 
In  several  letters  of  about  the  same  time,  Jefferson  writes  with 
evident  joy  of  the  proposed  expedition,  always  naming  the  western 
ocean  as  the  objective.  And  in  the  formal  instructions  to  Lewis, 
issued  June  20,  1803,  Jefferson  says  in  language  which  should  not 
be  open  to  misinterpretation:  “The  object  of  your  mission  is  to 
explore  the  Missouri  River,  and  such  principal  stream  of  it,  as 
by  its  course  and  communication  with  the  waters  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  may  offer  the  most  direct  and  practicable  water  communica¬ 
tion  across  the  continent  for  the  purposes  of  commerce.”  The 
study  of  the  natives  along  the  line  to  be  pursued  was  important 
on  account  of  the  commerce  which  might  be  carried  on  with 
them.  Moreover,  Lewis  was  to  inform  himself,  on  reaching 
the  Pacific,  whether  the  furs  of  those  far  western  regions  might 
not  be  transported  as  advantageously  by  the  western  river  con¬ 
nection  and  the  Missouri,  through  the  United  States,  as  by  ship 
around  South  America  from  Nootka  Sound  or  elsewhere  on  the 
coast. 

Although  it  is  easy  to  prove  the  presence,  also,  of  the  other  mo- 


THE  WESTERN  OCEAN  AND  OREGON  HISTORY  289 


tives  named  above,  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  from  this  evidence 
that  the  discovery  of  a  water  communication  with  the  Pacific, 
for  purposes  of  commerce,  was  the  dominant  motive  which  led 
to  the  exploration.  If  confirmatory  evidence  is  needed,  we  have 
it  in  Lewis’s  letter  to  Jefferson,  of  September  23,  1806,  the  letter 
in  which  he  announces  the  safe  return  of  his  party  and  gives  the 
first  brief  digest  of  the  results  of  their  exploration.  Lewis  knew 
Jefferson’s  mind  better  than  anyone  else,  and  this  report  being 
conceived  by  him  as  a  summary  of  the  things  Jefferson  would  be 
most  eager  to  learn,  we  are  pretty  safe  in  assuming  that  the  things 
Lewis  here  places  first  were  the  things  Jefferson  regarded  as  funda¬ 
mental.  The  letter  begins : 

“  Sir  :  It  is  with  pleasure  that  I  announce  to  you  the  safe  arrival 
of  myself  and  party  at  this  place  on  the  [blank  space  in  MS.]  inst. 
with  our  papers  and  baggage,  no  accedent  has  deprived  us  of 
a  single  member  of  our  party  since  I  last  wrote  you  from  the 
Mandans  in  April  1804.  In  obedience  to  your  orders  we  have 
penetrated  the  Continent  of  North  America  to  the  Pacific  Ocean 
and  suficiently  explored  the  interior  of  the  country  to  affirm  that 
we  have  discovered  the  most  practicable  communication  which 
dose  exist  across  the  continent  by  means  of  the  navigable  branches 
of  the  Missouri  and  Columbia  Rivers”  ; 

Then  follows  a  detailed  description  of  the  route,  with  the  trans¬ 
portation  capabilities  and  difficulties  of  the  various  sections.  This 
is  followed  again  by  the  significant  generalization  : 

“We  vew  this  passage  across  the  continent  as  affording  immence 
advantages  to  the  fir  trade  but  fear  that  advantages  wich  it  offers 
as  a  communication  for  the  productions  of  the  East  Indias  to  the 
United  States  and  thence  to  Europe  will  never  be  found  equal 
on  an  extensive  scale  to  that  by  the  way  of  the  Cape  of  good  hope, 
still  we  believe  that  many  articles  not  bulky  brittle  nor  of  a  per¬ 
ishable  nature  may  be  conveyed  to  the  U’.  States  by  this  rout 
with  more  facility  and  less  expence  than  by  that  at  present  prac¬ 
ticed.  That  portion  of  the  Continent  watered  by  the  Missouri 
and  all  it’s  branches  from  the  Cheyenne  upwards  is  richer  in  beaver 
u 


290 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


and  Otter  than  any  country  on  earth  .  .  .  ;  the  furs  of  all  this 
immence  tract  of  country  .  .  .  may  be  conveyed  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Columbia  by  the  1st  of  August  in  each  year  and  from  thence  be 
shiped  to  and  arrive  at  Canton  earlier  than  the  furs  which  are 
annually  shiped  from  Montreal  arrive  in  England.” 

Lewis  thinks  the  British  Northwest  traders  might  be  induced  to 
ship  most  of  their  furs  by  the  same  route.  When  a  proper  organ¬ 
ization  of  the  business  shall  have  been  effected,  including  trad¬ 
ing  posts  along  the  line  of  communication  at  strategic  points, 
a  yearly  exchange  of  North  American  furs  and  Chinese  goods  could 
be  executed,  the  latter  arriving  in  St.  Louis  by  the  last  of  Septem¬ 
ber  of  each  year.  He  concludes  : 

“If  the  government  will  only  aid  even  on  a  limited  scale  the 
enterprize  of  her  Citizens  I  am  convinced  that  we  shall  soon 
derive  the  benefits  of  a  most  lucrative  trade  from  this  source, 
and  in  the  course  of  10  or  12  Years  a  tour  across  the  Continent  by 
this  rout  will  be  undertaken  with  as  little  concern  as  a  voyage 
across  the  Atlantic  is  at  present.” 

About  two  and  a  quarter  pages  of  the  letter  embracing  three  and 
three-fourths  pages,  are  devoted  to  the  topics  presented  above. 
The  balance  of  the  letter  contains  a  reference  to  the  menacing 
trade  activity  of  the  Northwest  Company  on  the  Upper  Missouri, 
with  suggestions  for  thwarting  their  plans,  a  succinct  chronology 
of  the  expedition,  a  partial  invoice  of  the  natural  history  speci¬ 
mens  brought  back,  among  which  was  the  Chief  of  the  Mandans, 
a  reference  to  the  valuable  services  rendered  by  Captain  Clark, 
and  an  assurance  that  he  (Lewis)  would  hasten  to  Washington. 
In  short,  viewed  as  a  document,  the  theme  of  this  letter  is :  “The 
new  route  across  the  continent  for  purposes  of  trade  and  what  it 
will  probably  mean  to  the  people  of  the  United  States.” 

Lewis’s  letter  helps  us  to  interpret  the  idea  of  “commerce” 
as  used  in  Jefferson’s  instructions  to  mean  not  merely  such  trade 
as  might  be  developed  with  the  peoples  dwelling  along  the  line 
of  the  hoped  for  route  to  the  Pacific,  and  along  its  coasts  and 
fringing  islands,  but  also  such  trade  as  might  be  induced  to  cross 


THE  WESTERN  OCEAN  AND  OREGON  HISTORY  291 


the  ocean  from  the  Orient  to  North  America.  In  a  word,  Jeffer¬ 
son’s  scheme  had  in  it,  along  with  very  practical  suggestions  for 
getting  profit  from  an  extension  of  our  continental  trade,  some¬ 
thing  of  the  idealist’s  aspiration  to  contribute  to  the  solution  of 
the  age-old  problem  of  uniting  the  East  with  the  West.  It  seems 
fair  on  the  whole  to  say  that  it  was  the  Pacific  Ocean  —  the  goal 
of  these  endeavors,  charged  by  reason  of  its  geographical  relations 
with  every  potential  advantage  to  his  country  and  the  world  — 
that  actually  lay  at  the  bottom  of  Jefferson’s  interest  in  securing 
the  exploration. 

From  this  point  of  view,  too,  we  have  a  ready  explanation  of 
Jefferson’s  earlier  expressions  of  interest  in  Far  West  exploration. 
When  in  1783  he  suggested  to  George  Rogers  Clark  the  leadership 
of  an  exploring  enterprise,  it  was  because  the  British  were  said  to 
be  raising  a  sum  of  money  to  explore  from  the  Mississippi  to  Cali¬ 
fornia.  A  few  years  later  he  urged  Ledyard  to  proceed  from 
Nootka  Sound  on  the  Pacific  eastward,  to  the  Missouri,  and  thence 
to  the  United  States,  having  in  mind,  doubtless,  a  water  communi¬ 
cation  more  or  less  complete  between  the  coast  and  the  Missouri, 
as  maps  of  that  time  represented  northern  geography.  When 
Michaux  was  commissioned  by  the  American  Philosophical  Society 
to  explore  westward,  Jefferson  wrote  his  instructions,  and  in  these 
he  charged  the  French  scientist  as  “the  first  of  all  objects,  that 
you  seek  for  and  pursue  that  route  which  shall  form  the  shortest 
and  most  convenient  communication  between  the  higher  parts 
of  the  Missouri  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.”  And  he  added  this 
significant  stipulation  :  “  If  you  reach  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  return, 
the  Society  assign  to  you  all  the  benefits  of  the  subscription  before 
mentioned.  If  you  reach  the  waters  only  that  run  into  that  ocean, 
the  Society  reserve  to  themselves  the  apportionment  of  the  reward 
according  to  the  conditions  expressed  in  the  subscription.  If  you 
do  not  reach  even  these  waters  they  refuse  all  reward,  and  reclaim 
the  money  you  may  have  received  here  under  the  subscription.” 

The  fur  trade,  as  the  first  general  exploitation  of  new  territory, 
began  in  America  with  the  founding  of  the  first  settlements  and 
in  some  cases  it  anticipated  these  settlements.  That  trade,  it 
has  been  well  said,  “pioneered  the  way  for  civilization”  across 
the  American  continent.  But  the  character  of  the  fur  trade 


292 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


in  the  region  of  the  Pacific  Northwest  differed  widely  from  that 
of  more  easterly  sections,  especially  in  the  items  of  organization, 
scope,  and  the  degree  to  which  it  was  blended  with  general  com¬ 
merce.  The  Astor  Company  and  its  successors  the  Northwest 
Company  and  Hudson’s  Bay  Company  represent,  first,  the  triumph 
of  the  principle  of  monopoly  -as  applied  to  the  continental  fur 
trade ;  second,  in  an  ascending  series,  they  mark  the  widest  geo¬ 
graphical  reach  of  this  type  of  trade  as  a  feature  of  the  process  of 
winning  the  continent ;  third,  whereas  the  earlier  fur  trade  — 
so  far  as  the  territory  of  the  United  States  was  concerned  —  re¬ 
stricted  itself  to  a  simple  interchange  with  the  natives  of  goods 
they  craved  for  skins  they  could  catch  by  hunting  and  trapping, 
the  developed  trade  of  the  Pacific  Northwest  ranged  from  the 
most  primitive  barter  with  the  Indians  to  elaborate  and  highly 
financed  operations  of  world  commerce. 

The  remoter  prophet  of  this  new  fur  trade  on  the  side  of  its 
geographical  extension  was  Arthur  Dobbs,  its  more  immediate 
originative  agent  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie;  while  Mr.  Astor, 
the  McGillivrays,  Sir  George  Simpson,  McLoughlin,  and  others, 
contributed  to  its  development. 

Arthur  Dobbs,  in  1744,  dreamed  of  the  day  when  British  sub¬ 
jects  should  control  the  entire  trade  from  Lower  Canada,  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers  westward  to  the  Pacific,  as  a  prelimi¬ 
nary  to  the  prosecution  of  voyages  for  the  opening  of  the  North¬ 
west  Passage  and  the  subsequent  survey,  on  a  grand  scale,  of  South 
Sea  waters,  the  discovery  of  continents  and  islands  teeming  with 
peoples  waiting  to  be  supplied  with  British  goods.  He  did  not 
believe  in  the  principle  of  monopoly  as  applied  to  that  trade,  but 
the  vision  of  its  continental  possibilities  came  to  him  with  surpass¬ 
ing  force  and  clearness. 

Mackenzie,  after  his  famous  overland  expedition  to  the  Pacific 
in  1792-3,  elaborated  a  complete  plan  for  engrossing  and  reor¬ 
ganizing  the  Northern  American  fur  trade.  The  two  British 
companies,  of  the  Northwest  and  Hudson’s  Bay,  were  to  combine. 
The  eastern  emporium  of  their  trade  was  to  be  at  the  mouth  of 
Nelson  River  in  Hudson’s  Bay,  the  western  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia.  The  two  termini  were  to  be  united  along  the  line  of 
the  Columbia,  called  by  him  “  the  line  of  communication  from  the 


THE  WESTERN  OCEAN  AND  OREGON  HISTORY  293 


Pacific  pointed  out  by  nature,”  and  probably  the  Saskatchewan, 
to  Lake  Winnipeg.  Mackenzie’s  comment  upon  his  plan  is  deserv¬ 
ing  of  special  interest  as  a  remarkable  forecast  of  what  was  to  occur 
a  few  years  later,  as  well  as  for  the  light  it  throws  on  Mackenzie’s 
view  of  the  relation  of  the  inland  trade  to  the  oceans,  east  and  west. 
He  says : 

“By  opening  this  intercourse  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
oceans,  and  forming  regular  establishments  through  the  interior, 
and  at  both  extremes,  as  well  as  along  the  coasts  and  islands, 
the  entire  command  of  the  fur  trade  of  North  America  might  be 
obtained,  from  latitude  forty-five  degrees  north  to  the  pole,  except 
that  portion  of  it  which  the  Russians  have  in  the  Pacific.  To 
this  may  be  added  the  fishing  in  both  seas  and  the  markets  of  the 
four  quarters  of  the  globe.” 

Astor,  following  out  the  suggestion  of  Lewis  and  Clark  as  to 
the  practicability  of  assembling  Missouri  and  Columbia  River 
furs  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  for  shipment  to  Canton  — 
a  suggestion  which,  in  part  at  least,  was  probably  derived  from 
Mackenzie  —  actualized  the  conception  of  a  world-wide  commerce 
erected  upon  the  Oriental  demand  for  furs.  And  the  British 
successors  of  the  Astor  Company,  more  definitely  the  heirs  of 
Mackenzie’s  policy,  accomplished  directly  and  indirectly  the 
same  result,  although  handicapped  for  a  time  by  the  old  estab¬ 
lished  monopoly  of  the  East  India  Company. 

In  all  of  this  marvellous  transforming  development  of  the  fur 
trade,  it  is  clear  that  the  circumstance  of  the  trader  having  reached 
the  Pacific  is  the  fundamental  new  fact  determinative  of  all  the 
rest.  The  South  Sea  of  Dobbs’s  dream  became  in  the  nineteenth 
century  the  highway  of  commerce  of  all  sorts  based  on  furs,  its 
measureless  possibilities  and  their  progressive  realization  stimu¬ 
lating  to  a  growth  which  created  a  new  complex  commercial  or¬ 
ganization  out  of  one  originally  simple.  “The  trade  between 
the  eastern  and  western  hemispheres,  direct  across  the  Pacific,” 
said  George  Canning  in  1826,  “  is  the  trade  of  the  world  most  sus¬ 
ceptible  of  rapid  augmentation  and  improvement.”  He  was 
right,  and  the  fact  influenced  not  only  his  own  but  other  cabinets 


294 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


and  formed  a  determining  factor  in  the  diplomacy  of  nations  as 
well  as  in  the  projects  of  commercial  concerns.  But  that  is  another 
story,  into  which  we  shall  not  be  tempted  at  this  time. 

The  history  of  the  way  Oregon  Territory  was  occupied  by 
Americans  arriving  by  wagon  train  from  the  Missouri  frontier  is 
familiar,  and  has  won  for  the  Oregon  immigrant  of  the  early  40’s 
the  distinction  of  originating  the  most  spectacular  form  of  con¬ 
tinental  pioneering.  The  significance  of  what  these  men  did, 
however,  lies  not  merely  in  the  distances  traversed  to  reach  their 
objective,  nor  in  the  dangers  and  hardships  encountered  on  the 
march.  Nor  does  it  lie  in  the  new  type  of  half  military  social 
organization  made  necessary  by  the  conditions  of  the  emigrations, 
which  left  their  mark  upon  the  resulting  society,  nor  in  the  selec¬ 
tive  process  which  gave  to  the  Northwest  the  most  virile,  resource¬ 
ful,  and  enterprising  of  the  strictly  pioneering  American  stock. 
To  at  least  an  equal  extent  it  lies  in  the  isolation,  necessarily  com¬ 
plete  and  probably  enduring,  which  they  were  willing  to  risk  for 
the  sake  of  the  anticipated  advantages  and  the  ideals  impelling 
them  westward.  It  is  this  paralyzing  isolation  that  assimilates 
the  early  history  of  the  Pacific  Northwest  (and  less  markedly 
that  of  California  in  the  years  before  ’49)  to  early  colonial  life. 
If  possible,  the  Willamette  Colony  in  the  years  1837  to  1849  was 
even  more  completely  isolated  from  the  great  world  than  was 
Virginia  before  1624  or  Plymouth  before  1630.  How  long  that 
condition  might  have  endured  but  for  the  California  gold  dis¬ 
covery  we  can  only  conjecture.  Even  as  modified  by  that  stu¬ 
pendous  occurrence,  the  figures  of  comparative  population  of 
Northwestern  States  and  other  representative  western  groups  re¬ 
veal  striking  differences  in  the  dynamics  of  the  historical  process 
as  it  went  on  here  and  elsewhere. 

The  three  southern  states  of  the  Old  Northwest  —  Ohio, 
Indiana,  and  Illinois  —  to  take  one  example,  were  settled  up  largely 
before  the  era  of  railways  and  partly  before  the  era  of  steamboats. 
Yet,  in  the  space  of  fifty  years,  from  1790  to  1840,  their  population 
grew  from  45,000  in  the  former  year  to  2,680,000  in  the  latter. 

The  tract  of  country  west  of  the  Mississippi  which  includes  the 
states  of  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Nebraska  and  Kansas,  began  to  be 
populated  about  1840,  when  Iowa  Territory,  the  earliest  of  the 


THE  WESTERN  OCEAN  AND  OREGON  HISTORY  295 


four  to  emerge,  was  credited  with  42,000.  In  1850  Iowa  and 
Minnesota  together  had  197,000.  In  1860  the  four  states  and 
territories  had  372,000  ;  in  1870  Iowa  alone  had  1,188,000,  Minne¬ 
sota  438,000,  Kansas  346,000,  and  Nebraska  122,000.  By  1880 
the  four  states  show  a  total  of  3,793,000,  which  rises  to  5,620,000 
at  the  census  of  1890. 

Turning  to  the  Pacific  Northwest,  the  census  bureau  first  notices 
the  region  in  1850  and  assigns  Oregon  Territory  13,087  persons. 
In  1860  Oregon  has  52,000  and  Washington  Territory  11,138  — 
a  total  of  63,000.  In  1870  the  total  for  the  region  was  86,000. 
In  1880  Oregon  had  163,075,  Washington  67,000,  Idaho  29,000, 
and  the  whole  of  Montana  Territory  (only  a  fraction  of  which 
belongs  to  the  Pacific  Northwest)  had  35,000,  or  a  grand  total 
for  the  region  of  approximately  280,000.  Estimating  Montana’s 
contribution  at  three-sevenths  of  the  entire  population  of  that 
state,  the  census  of  1890  would  give  the  region  a  grand  total  of 
778,000,  or  in  round  numbers  three-fourths  of  a  million  persons, 
and  the  census  of  1900  raises  this  to  barely  1,127,000.  In  other 
words,  population  in  the  Old  Northwest  advanced  in  its  first  half 
century,  even  under  the  handicap  of  primitive  transportation  and 
industrial  conditions,  at  a  rate  almost  two  and  one-half  times  as 
rapid  as  that  of  the  Pacific  Northwest;  while  in  the  four  states 
west  of  the  Mississippi  settled  almost  contemporaneously  with 
ours  the  rate  was  five  times  as  rapid. 

Western  American  history  proves  that  as  a  rule  the  ease  and 
certainty  with  which  new  communities  recover  from  the  repress¬ 
ing  tendencies  of  pioneer  life  and  strike  the  gait  of  old  or  new 
progress  is  measured,  largely,  other  things  being  equal,  by  the  rate 
of  increase  of  their  populations,  which  of  course  depends  in  its 
turn  primarily  on  the  development  of  adequate  market  facilities. 
One  can  hardly  escape  the  reflection  that,  but  for  circumstances 
which  were  accidental  in  character,  like  the  California  gold  dis¬ 
covery  and  later  the  gold  discoveries  of  the  Inland  Empire  and 
British  Columbia,  the  Oregon  country  (and  with  it  California) 
would  have  lagged  behind  in  its  development  for  a  century  or 
more.  Like  portions  of  the  so-called  Old  West  (the  region  stretch¬ 
ing  from  the  fall  line  of  east-flowing  rivers  to  the  crest  of  the 
Alleghenies)  this  naturally  fruitful  region  might  well  have  become 


296 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


a  second  vast  “retarded  area,”  with  a  population  rendered  static 
on  the  pioneering  plane  of  life  by  the  indurating  process  of  a  train¬ 
ing  which  for  several  generations  remained  uniform  on  both  its 
formal  and  its  informal  sides. 

Yet  the  pioneers  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  many  of  them  men 
of  keen  and  clear  vision,  risked  this  portentous  social  danger, 
with  all  lesser  ones,  because  the  presence  of  the  Pacific  Ocean 
seemed  to  them  in  their  inexperience  to  be  an  offset  to  every  pru¬ 
dential  consideration  based  on  the  previous  history  of  continental 
pioneering.  The  leaders  of  the  early  emigrations,  in  fact,  took 
counsel  of  their  hopes  rather  than  their  fears.  They  were  influ¬ 
enced  powerfully  by  the  glowing  anticipations  respecting  Oregon 
voiced  by  men  in  and  out  of  Congress  and  by  such  seers  among 
public  servants  as  Lieutenant  Charles  Wilkes.  On  his  visit  to 
Oregon  and  California,  in  1841,  as  commander  of  the  Exploring 
Expedition,  which  had  already  spent  three  years  in  Pacific  waters, 
Wilkes  wrote  in  his  journal  a  prediction  that  California  would  in 
time  be  free  from  Mexico  and  become  united  with  Oregon  in  a  new 
state  which  would  control  “the  destinies  of  the  Pacific.”  “This 
future  state  is  admirably  fitted  to  become  a  powerful  maritime 
nation,”  he  said,  “with  two  of  the  finest  ports  in  the  world  — 
that  within  the  straits  of  Fuca  and  San  Francisco.  The  two 
regions  have,  in  fact,  within  themselves  everything  to  make  them 
increase  and  keep  up  an  intercourse  with  the  whole  of  Polynesia, 
as  well  as  the  countries  of  South  America  on  the  one  side,  and 
China,  New  Holland  and  New  Zealand  on  the  other.  Among  the 
latter,  before  many  years,  may  be  included  Japan.  Such  various 
climates  will  furnish  the  materials  for  a  beneficial  interchange 
of  products  and  an  intercourse  that  must  in  time  become  immense, 
while  this  western  coast,  enjoying  a  climate  in  many  ways  superior 
to  any  other  on  the  Pacific,  possessed  as  it  must  be  by  the  Anglo- 
Norman  race,  and  having  none  to  enter  into  rivalry  with  it  but 
the  indolent  inhabitants  of  warm  climates,  is  evidently  destined 
to  fill  a  large  space  in  the  world’s  future  history.” 

With  such  a  pronouncement,  and  similar  ones,  as  models, 
it  was  natural  for  journalistic  promoters  of  Oregon  emigration  to 
refer  to  Oregon  as  “the  future  home  of  the  power  that  is  to  rule 
the  Pacific,”  and  for  the  pioneers  themselves  to  entertain  exalted 


THE  WESTERN  OCEAN  AND  OREGON  HISTORY  297 


though  vague  expectations  of  a  future  social  and  political  impor¬ 
tance^  future  economic  and  commercial  greatness,  which  somehow 
would  come  to  them  as  the  gift  of  the  mysterious  western  sea. 

Thus  the  land  was  settled  ahead  of  its  time,  the  siren  voice  of 
the  sea  luring  the  immigrant  far  beyond  his  logical  frontier.  Plans 
of  large-scale  development  were  projected  on  the  same  principle, 
namely,  that  the  Pacific  Ocean  would  somehow  guarantee  their 
successful  execution.  Asa  Whitney’s  railway  project,  which 
emerges  as  early  as  1845,  assumed  that  an  oriental  trade  of  limit¬ 
less  volume  could  be  directed  through  the  United  States  once  a 
rail  line  should  connect  the  Great  Lakes  with  the  Pacific,  much 
as  Jefferson  appears  to  have  hoped  for  such  a  result  from  the  open¬ 
ing  of  water  communication. 

On  the  whole,  idealism  and  optimism,  a  bold  unconquerable 
faith,  here  demonstrate  their  social  superiority  over  timid  prudence 
and  besetting  doubt.  Neptune  has  kept  faith  with  his  votaries. 
The  selective  process  resulting  in  the  settlement,  partly  overland 
and  partly  by  sea,  has  given  to  the  Northwest  a  social  organiza¬ 
tion  capable  of  utilizing  and  developing  the  commercial  oppor¬ 
tunities  which  the  Pacific  implies.  With  a  low  rate  of  population 
growth,  there  has  coexisted  a  high  rate  of  economic  and  social 
differentiation  as  compared  with  the  more  purely  agricultural 
states  of  the  West.  The  Northwestern  States,  in  short,  despite 
early  handicaps  are  prepared  by  their  history  to  take  full  advantage 
of  the  new  age  symbolized  by  this  the  Panama-Pacific  Exposition 
in  San  Francisco. 


THE  WATERWAYS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST 


Clarence  B.  Bagley 

Recently,  as  I  have  studied  this  subject  its  magnitude  has 
grown  more  apparent.  The  space  allotted  my  paper  will  permit 
little  more  than  a  historical  sketch.  It  has  been  my  life  work  to 
gather  together  the  written  and  printed  history  of  the  Pacific 
Northwest,  but  I  am  not  a  professional  writer  of  it. 

For  my  purpose  this  caption  refers  to  the  Columbia  River  and 
its  tributaries,  and  Puget  Sound  and  the  rivers  emptying  into  it, 
including  the  Fraser,  and  their  watersheds.  The  Columbia  and 
Fraser  are  the  only  rivers  that  break  through  the  great  mountain 
ranges  which  parallel  the  shore  of  Washington  and  Oregon.  With 
the  Pacific  Ocean  only  a  few  miles  away,  with  its  intricate  network 
of  great  and  lesser  rivers,  and  its  inland  tidal  waters  whose  aggre¬ 
gate  littoral  exceeds  the  distance  between  Cape  Cod  and  Cape 
Flattery,  it  is  remarkable  how  much  of  the  exploration  and  indus¬ 
trial  and  commercial  development  of  the  Pacific  Northwest  has 
come  from  the  East  towards  the  West. 

Alexander  Mackenzie  in  1793,  when  he  discovered  the  upper 
reaches  of  the  Great  River ;  Lewis  and  Clark  in  1805 ;  Simon 
Fraser  and  John  Stuart  in  1805-6;  Daniel  W.  Harmon  in  1810; 
David  Thompson  in  1811,  and  a  little  later  Wilson  Price  Hunt, 
and  thereafter  nearly  all  the  leading  men  of  the  Northwest  Com¬ 
pany  and  the  Hudson’s  Bay  Company,  braved  the  hardships  and 
dangers  of  the  trip  over  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  down  the  tur¬ 
bulent  waters  of  the  Columbia  or  the  Fraser. 

John  McLoughlin,  James  Douglas  and  Peter  Skene  Ogden, 
Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth  and  the  first  missionaries,  John  C.  Fremont, 
B.  L.  E.  Bonneville,  all  led  expeditions  westward.  Astoria  was 
founded  from  the  sea,  and  the  expeditions  of  Astor’s  party  to 
establish  inland  posts  went  up  the  river  from  the  west,  but  they 

298 


THE  WATERWAYS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  299 


were  all  failures.  For  nearly  seventy  years  the  canoe  and  the 
bateau,  the  ox  team  or  the  horse  team  attached  to  the  prairie 
schooner,  were  the  instruments  whereby  the  pioneers  searched  out 
the  country  and  peopled  its  valleys  and  plains. 

During  the  period  between  1842  and  1855,  old  Oregon  was 
mostly  peopled  by  immigrants  from  the  Mississippi  valley,  who 
came  overland.  After  the  completion  of  the  railroad  across  the 
Isthmus  in  1855,  immigrants  from  near  the  Atlantic  seaboard 
took  steamer  at  New  York  City  for  Aspinwall,  crossed  the  Isthmus 
by  rail,  thence  to  San  Francisco  by  steamer  and  to  Oregon  and 
Washington  by  sailing  craft  or  steamer.  Troubles  with  Indians 
between  the  Missouri  and  Columbia,  of  frequence  in  the  later 
’fifties,  followed  closely  by  the  great  Civil  War  period,  materially 
checked  the  influx  of  population  overland.  In  fact,  not  until 
the  completion  of  the  Northern  Pacific  in  1883,  and  soon  afterward 
of  the  Oregon  Shortline,  did  the  real  development  of  Oregon  and 
Washington  begin. 

In  1850  there  were  in  old  Oregon  only  13,000  white  settlers, 
1049  of  whom  lived  north  of  the  Columbia  River;  in  1860 Oregon 
had  52,000,  Washington,  11,500;  in  1870,  Oregon  91,000,  Wash¬ 
ington  24,000 ;  in  1880,  Oregon  175,000,  Washington  75,000 ;  in 
1890,  Oregon  314,000,  Washington  349,000.  The  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad  had  been  completed  in  1883,  quickly  followed 
by  the  Oregon  Shortline,  and  Washington  had  gained  nearly  five¬ 
fold  in  a  decade  and  had  passed  her  older  sister  in  population. 
In  1900  Oregon  had  414,000,  Washington  518,000 ;  in  1910  Ore¬ 
gon  had  673,000,  with  Washington  1,142,000,  or  a  gain  by  the 
latter  of  more  than  100  per  cent  in  ten  years.  Oregon  had  an 
assessed  valuation  of  905  millions  and  Washington,  1025  millions. 
Neither  had  a  bonded  debt. 

The  Canadian  Pacific,  Great  Northern,  Chicago,  Milwaukee 
&  St.  Paul,  Northern  Pacific,  Oregon  Shortline  and  Southern 
Pacific  railroads  had  all  reached  Pacific  coast  terminals,  and 
in  consequence  the  great  Northwest  had  gained  remarkably  in 
population,  wealth  and  volume  of  trade  and  commerce. 

In  the  Willamette  valley  the  water  power  afforded  by  the 
streams  of  the  Cascades  and  Coast  ranges  served  to  operate  the 
early  wood  working  and  flouring  mills,  the  woolen  mills  and  small 


300 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


manufacturing  plants,  but  on  Puget  Sound  it  was  more  econom¬ 
ical  to  operate  the  saw-mills  by  steam  where  the  ships  could 
reach  the  docks  easily  and  quickly. 

Almost  immediately  after  their  arrival  at  Tumwater,  the  first 
American  settlers  began  building  a  saw-mill  and  a  grist-mill  on 
the  bank  of  the  Des  Chutes  River.  The  irons  were  bought  from 
the  Hudson’s  Bay  Company  and  the  millstones  were  made  from 
a  large  granite  boulder  near  by.  Both  mills  were  run  by  water 
power.  A  few  other  small  mills  were  constructed  elsewhere  on 
the  Sound,  but  all  were  financial  failures. 

No  large  city  has  grown  up  in  the  Northwest  on  the  site  of 
the  great  water  powers  of  the  Columbia,  Fraser,  Willamette  or 
smaller  streams.  Also,  excepting  Victoria  and  New  Westminster, 
no  large  city  has  grown  up  on  the  site  of  the  trading  posts  of  the 
Hudson’s  Bay  Company  or  the  villages  first  started  by  the 
American  settlers  in  the  Willamette  valley  or  on  Puget  Sound. 
Seattle,  Portland,  Spokane,  Tacoma,  and  Vancouver  in  British 
Columbia,  appeared  on  the  map  years  after  a  dozen  of  their  early 
rivals  had  been  thriving  little  towns,  and  the  most  successful  were 
founded  by  farmers  from  the  Mississippi  valley  who,  perhaps, 
had  never  seen  a  large  city. 

A  regular  transportation  line  was  established  on  the  Lower 
Columbia  in  1843 ;  and  in  1845,  deep  sea  vessels  began  to  frequent 
the  harbor  of  Victoria  and  the  Columbia  River.  These  included 
many  war  vessels  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  Steam¬ 
ship  communication,  more  or  less  irregular,  began  between  San 
Francisco  and  the  Columbia  River  in  1850,  and  between  the  former 
city  and  Puget  Sound  about  1857,  though  the  Otter  and  other 
steamers  had  made  occasional  trips  on  the  latter  route  long  before 
that  time.  Also,  about  1850,  steamers  began  to  operate  on  the 
Lower  Willamette  and  on  the  Columbia  below  the  Cascades. 

After  Vancouver’s  day  little  is  reported  of  the  Puget  Sound 
region  for  about  thirty  years.  As  early  as  1827  the  schooners 
Vancouver  and  Cadboro,  owned  and  operated  by  the  Hudson’s 
Bay  Company,  are  known  to  have  sailed  from  the  Columbia  River 
to  Puget  Sound  and  engaged  in  traffic  with  the  natives  as  far 
north  as  Sitka.  In  1836  the  Steamer  Beaver  arrived  in  the 
Columbia  River  from  England,  but  in  a  short  time  she  left  the 


THE  WATERWAYS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  301 


Columbia  and  began  running  up  and  down  the  coast  in  and  out 
of  the  rivers,  bays,  and  inlets  between  Puget  Sound  and  Alaska, 
carrying  grain  and  other  food  stuffs  northward  and  bringing 
back  furs  and  skins  and  at  times  towing  sailing  vessels  to  and  fro. 

During  all  the  early  years,  down  the  waters  of  the  Willamette 
and  Columbia  came  considerable  wheat  and  other  grains,  but 
freight  rates  were  so  high  that  little  profit  was  realized  by  the 
grower  and  the  acreage  in  consequence  increased  but  slowly. 
The  lumber  exports  of  the  Columbia  River  region  also  were  large. 
On  Puget  Sound,  until  metal  supplanted  wood  in  shipbuilding, 
numerous  cargoes  of  ships’  spars  went  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard 
and  to  Europe,  but  sawed  lumber  and  piles,  with  shingles  and  lath 
to  complete  the  stowage,  were  the  chief  articles  of  export.  Good 
coal  was  mined  on  Vancouver  Island  earlier  than  on  the  American 
side  of  Puget  Sound,  but  no  considerable  shipments  abroad  began 
until  after  1870.  For  more  than  thirty  years  thereafter  the  coal 
mining  industry  of  the  Puget  Sound  country  ranked  closely  after 
the  lumber  business  and  a  large  fleet  of  seagoing  vessels  was  con¬ 
stantly  employed  in  the  trade.  During  recent  years  the  use  of 
oil  in  competition  with  coal  for  fuel  has  curtailed  greatly  the 
output  of  the  northern  coal  mines. 

It  is  more  than  1650  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
to  the  uppermost  point  of  navigation,  but  rapids  and  falls  occur 
at  frequent  intervals.  Until  quite  recently  no  continuous  navi¬ 
gation  of  more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  was  practicable. 
Traffic  between  Portland  and  Lewiston,  Idaho,  required  the  oper¬ 
ation  of  three  separate  steamers  on  as  many  stretches  of  the 
stream  and  still  another  on  the  upper  Willamette.  This  made 
necessary  artificial  methods  of  getting  freight  and  passengers 
around  the  breaks  in  the  river,  and  it  was  not  long  before  an 
absolute  monopoly  was  held  by  one  company  on  the  Columbia 
and  by  another  on  the  upper  Willamette,  though  attempts  at 
independent  operation  of  boats  on  the  latter  were  frequent. 
To-day,  a  steamer  can  run  from  Lewiston  to  Astoria,  or,  if  of 
light  enough  draught,  to  Eugene  on  the  Willamette. 

In  1850  a  wooden  tramroad  was  built  on  the  north  side  and 
later  another  on  the  south  side  around  the  cascades  of  the  Co¬ 
lumbia.  Late  in  the  50’s  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Com- 


302 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


pany  gained  control  of  them  and  installed  a  steam  railroad  on 
the  north  side. 

About  1860  that  company  began  the  construction  of  a  railroad 
from  The  Dalles  to  Celilo,  which  commenced  operations  in  1862, 
during  a  period  of  intense  mining  activity  in  Idaho,  Eastern 
Oregon  and  Northern  Washington.  Thereafter  it  practically 
owned  the  Columbia  above  the  Cascades.  The  history  of  its 
operations  and  exactions  and  of  the  colossal  fortunes  it  piled  up 
for  its  stockholders  reads  like  fiction. 

The  first  actual  improvement  of  a  waterway  that  I  remember 
was  at  Oregon  City.  In  1860,  at  the  west  side  of  the  Willamette 
River,  the  local  transportation  company  constructed  basins  above 
and  below  the  falls,  so  that  a  long  warehouse  covered  both  land¬ 
ing  places,  making  it  a  comparatively  easy  matter  to  transfer 
freight  up  and  down,  while  passengers  walked.  About  1870,  the 
company  replaced  this  system  by  a  short  canal  with  locks. 

For  a  great  many  years  the  United  States  has  made  liberal 
appropriations  to  be  used  in  overcoming  the  difficulties  of  navi¬ 
gation  of  the  Columbia  River  and  its  main  tributaries.  Under 
date  of  August  6,  1915,  Major  Arthur  Williams,  United  States 
Engineer  of  the  First  Oregon  district,  furnished  the  following 
list  of  original  expenditures : 

Snake  River,  in  Oregon,  Washington  and  Idaho,  including 
$85,000  appropriated  by  the  state  of  Washington,  $338,786.43 ; 
Columbia  River  and  tributaries  above  Celilo  Falls  to  the  mouth  of 
Snake  River,  Oregon  and  Washington,  including  $25,000  from  the 
state  of  Washington,  $494,600.84 ;  Columbia  River  at  The  Dalles, 
Oregon  and  Washington  (Dalles-Celilo  Canal),  $4,685,855.79  ;  canal 
at  the  Cascades  of  the  Columbia  River,  Oregon  and  Washington, 
$3,912,473.33;  Columbia  River  between  Vancouver,  Washington, 
and  the  mouth  of  the  Willamette  River,  $97,532.16;  Oregon 
Slough  (North  Portland  Harbor),  Oregon,  $34,437.60.  In  addi¬ 
tion  to  the  foregoing  $390,921.58  have  been  expended  in  operation 
and  maintenance. 

In  a  letter  of  recent  date  from  Chas.  L.  Potter,  Lieutenant  Colo¬ 
nel,  Corps  of  United  States  Engineers,  are  tabulated  the  amounts 
heretofore  expended  in  the  second  district  on  all  river  and 
harbor  improvements  to  June  30,  1915,  as  follows : 


THE  WATERWAYS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  303 


Willamette  River  above  Portland,  and  Yamhill  River,  Oregon, 
$857,671.92;  operating  and  care  of  lock  and  dam  in  Yamhill 
River,  Oregon,  $43,426.95  ;  Willamette  River  at  Willamette  Falls, 
Oregon,  $83,441.71 ;  operating  and  care  of  canal  and  locks  in 
Willamette  River,  near  Oregon  City,  Oregon,  $344.22 ;  Columbia 
and  Lower  Willamette  rivers  below  Portland, Oregon, $3, 577, 958. 35  ; 
mouth  of  Columbia  River,  Oregon  and  Washington, $13, 156, 162. 52  ; 
Clatskanie  River,  Oregon,  $18,867.34  ;  Cowlitz  River,  Washington, 
$102,208.63;  Lewis  River,  Washington,  $39,587.19;  Cowlitz  and 
Lewis  rivers,  Washington,  and  Clatskanie  River,  Oregon,  dredge 
and  snagboat,  $36,138.04 ;  Grays  River,  Washington,  $3,857.23. 

Had  this  opening  up  to  navigation  been  completed  prior  to  the 
building  of  the  railroads  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers  and  across 
the  mountains,  it  would  have  been  of  inestimable  benefit  to  the 
tributary  country,  but  until  its  present  population  shall  have 
increased  ten  fold,  perhaps  twenty  fold,  and  the  railroads  shall 
be  unable  to  handle  the  traffic ;  when  the  waterway  craft  shall 
be  aids  to  the  railroads,  not  competitors,  I  believe  transportation 
of  freight  by  steamboats  or  by  barges  with  tugs  will  be  imprac¬ 
ticable.  Steamboat  service  up  the  swift  current  with  little  cargo 
will  fully  offset  any  cheapening  that  may  be  possible  down  stream, 
so  that  most  of  the  business  will  continue  to  be  done  by  the  rail¬ 
roads.  However,  the  open  river  will  undoubtedly  be  a  check 
upon  the  railroads. 

A  few  weeks  ago,  at  Lewiston,  during  the  rejoicings  over  the 
opening  of  the  upper  Columbia  to  free  navigation,  one  of  the 
leading  speakers  remarked  that  the  party  in  steaming  up  the 
river  had  seen  but  one  other  boat  and  she  was  tied  to  the  dock. 

The  state  of  Washington  was  in  some  measure  benefited  jointly 
with  Oregon  by  the  work  in  the  Columbia  basin  noted  above. 
The  actual  expenditures  by  the  United  States  in  Washington  have 
been  small  in  comparison.  On  Willapa  Harbor  they  have  been 
$241,878.39;  at  Gray’s  Harbor  $3,231,906.78;  on  Puget  Sound 
they  have  been,  at  Olympia,  $197,701.35;  at  Tacoma, 
$324,784.10;  at  Everett  and  Snohomish,  $664,752.59 ;  at  Belling¬ 
ham,  $149,834.69;  Skagit  River,  $101,455.54;  Swinomish, 
$217,652.29.  In  addition  to  the  work  done  at  Tacoma  by  the 
United  States,  the  railroads  and  the  municipality  have  spent 


304 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


large  sums  in  providing  docks  and  other  shipping  facilities,  and 
it  is  equipped  to  handle  its  full  share  of  the  Sound  and  sea¬ 
going  traffic.  The  foregoing  figures  were  furnished  me  from 
the  office  of  the  resident  United  States  Engineer,  Major  J.  B. 
Cavanaugh. 

Portland  is  the  overshadowing  city  of  the  Columbia  basin, 
and  has  always  handled  most  of  its  business,  while  on  Puget 
Sound  trade  and  commerce  have  been  divided.  It  is  all  a  vast 
harbor  and  its  cities  have  had  access  almost  equally  to  the  sea. 
Seattle,  Tacoma,  Vancouver,  Victoria,  New  Westminster,  Everett, 
Bellingham,  Anacortes,  Olympia,  and  Port  Townsend  are  credited 
with  an  aggregate  of  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  million  of  inhab¬ 
itants. 

During  the  last  ten  years  there  has  been  expended  in  Seattle 
more  than  fifteen  millions  of  dollars  in  harbor  improvements. 
By  the  operations  of  the  Seattle  &  Lake  Washington  Waterway 
Co.  there  have  been  1400  acres  of  land  filled,  much  of  it  now  cov¬ 
ered  with  buildings  of  a  most  substantial  character.  When  this 
company  began  operations  these  lands  were  covered  twice  a  day 
from  six  to  sixteen  feet  with  tidal  water.  Through  them  it  dug 
waterways  forty  and  fifty  feet  deep  at  low  tide  two  and  one  half 
miles  long,  1000  feet  wide,  and  two  miles  additional  five  hundred 
feet  wide.  This  has  required  the  construction  of  seven  miles  of 
bulkheads,  all  at  a  cost  of  a  little  more  than  five  millions  of 
dollars,  all  paid  by  the  owners  of  the  filled-in  lands.  Some  four 
hundred  additional  acres  of  land,  at  times  covered  by  the  tides 
or  by  high  waters  of  the  Duwamish  River,  have  been  reclaimed. 

A  ship  canal  between  the  waters  of  Puget  Sound  and  Lake  Union 
and  Washington  is  now  nearing  completion  and  is  expected  to  be 
in  use  during  the  current  year.  It  will  admit  the  passage  of  ships 
drawing  thirty  feet  of  water,  directly  into  the  lakes. 

The  locks  at  the  outer  entrance  have  been  constructed  by  the 
United  States  government.  The  larger  is  850  feet  long  and  is 
the  second  in  size  on  the  American  continent,  being  exceeded  in 
size  by  one  of  the  locks  of  the  Panama  Canal.  They  cost 
$2,275,000.  The  state  of  Washington,  county  of  King  and  city 
of  Seattle  contributed  $1,250,000  to  pay  for  condemnation  of  the 
necessary  land  and  dredging  and  digging  of  the  canals.  Add  to 


THE  WATERWAYS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  305 


this  $6,000,000,  raised  by  the  sale  of  longtime  bonds  voted  by  the 
people  and  expended  by  the  Port  Commission  of  Seattle  for  docks 
and  warehouses,  refrigerator  plants  and  other  facilities  for  speedy 
and  economical  handling  of  cargoes  of  grain,  fruit,  fish,  lumber, 
coal,  etc.,  and  the  above  aggregate  of  $15,000,000  has  been  passed. 

John  W.  B.  Blackman,  Esq.,  City  Engineer  of  New  Westminster, 
B.C.,  has  supplied  information  regarding  Victoria,  Vancouver, 
and  New  Westminster,  British  Columbia,  as  follows :  Expenditures 
in  Fraser  River  in  opening,  deepening,  straightening,  etc., 
$1,399,645.05;  in  Vancouver,  mostly  in  widening  the  Narrows, 
$2,174,148.45;  at  Victoria  in  recent  years,  $750,000  in  round 
numbers,  has  been  spent  in  blasting  and  removing  rock  from  the 
inner  harbor,  and  a  new  break-water  is  now  being  constructed  at 
an  estimated  cost  of  $3,000,000. 

The  canoe  and  bateau  gave  place  to  the  steamboat,  the  steam 
cars  took  away  from  the  steamboat  much  of  its  business,  and  in 
the  last  quarter  century  the  city  and  interurban  electric  cars  have 
taken  over  much  of  the  short  haul  traffic,  while  to-day  the  motor 
car  is  dividing  the  passenger  service  and  almost  monopolizing  the 
transportation  of  garden  and  dairy  products  into  and  about  the 
cities.  Who  shall  predict  how  soon  some  other  method  of  trans¬ 
portation  shall  make  the  land  and  water  traffic  of  to-day  seem  as 
archaic  as  the  ox  team  compared  with  a  high  power  racing  car? 

The  streams  of  Oregon  and  Washington  afford  one-third  of  the 
available  water  power  of  the  United  States.  A  small  part  of  this 
is  now  being  used  to  develop  electric  energy,  transmitted  at  long 
distances  at  high  voltage,  though  not  comparable  with  one  line 
in  California  that  is  transmitting  electricity  at  a  voltage  of  150,000 
a  distance  of  about  250  miles.  The  potential  possibilities  are  so 
vast  they  can  scarcely  be  estimated.  In  the  North  one  of  the 
transcontinental  railroad  lines  is  formulating  plans  to  operate 
its  trains  electrically  between  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  Puget 
Sound.  The  first  cost  will  be  great,  but  when  the  new  service 
begins  its  greater  economy  and  comfort  will  undoubtedly  compel 
all  competing  lines  to  follow  the  lead  of  their  rival. 

The  Panama  Canal  has  been  in  operation  only  a  year  and  it  is 
too  soon  even  to  predict  its  influence  upon  the  ocean  commerce 
of  the  North  Pacific,  but  so  far  little  of  the  lumber,  fish,  or  other 


306 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


commodities  from  the  Northwest  have  gone  through  it  eastward. 
Its  influence  has  been  almost  negligible,  and  while  considerable 
freight  has  gone  from  the  Middle  States  eastward  fifteen  hundred 
miles  to  Atlantic  ports  and  thence  around  by  water,  the  railroads 
of  the  Pacific  Northwest  have  not  as  yet  seen  cause  to  alter  their 
tariffs  because  of  it.  Doubtless,  when  the  great  war  in  Europe 
is  ended,  and  normal  conditions  are  regained,  the  Pacific  North¬ 
west  will  enjoy  in  full  measure  the  benefit  of  this  great  ocean 
waterway. 

To-day  passenger  ships  leave  Puget  Sound  for  Alaska  ports  on 
an  average  of  every  eighteen  hours,  and  nearly  as  many  freighters 
ply  on  the  same  route. 

The  ocean  commerce  of  the  North  Pacific  with  eastern  Siberia, 
Japan,  China,  the  Indies,  and  the  Philippines  across  the  Pacific, 
and  with  San  Francisco,  Hawaiian  Islands  and  through  the  Panama 
Canal  has,  in  the  last  few  years,  reached  enormous  proportions. 
Already  the  resources  of  six  great  transcontinental  railroad  sys¬ 
tems  are  taxed  to  the  uttermost  to  handle  their  part  of  it. 

On  the  floor  of  the  United  States  Senate,  January  24,  1843,  in 
the  course  of  debate  upon  “The  Oregon  Bill,”  participated  in  by 
Senators  Archer,  Benton,  Calhoun,  Choate,  Linn,  Morehead, 
McRoberts  and  Woodbury,  Calhoun  gave  utterance  to  the  fol¬ 
lowing  : 

“But  it  may  be  asked,  ‘what  then?  Shall  we  abandon  our 
claim  to  the  territory?’  I  answer,  no.  I  am  utterly  opposed 
to  that ;  but,  as  bad  as  that  would  be,  it  would  not  be  as  much 
so  as  to  adopt  a  rash  and  precipitate  measure,  which,  after  great 
sacrifices,  would  finally  end  in  its  loss.  But  I  am  opposed  to 
both.  My  object  is  to  preserve  and  not  to  lose  the  territory.  I 
do  not  agree  with  my  eloquent  and  able  colleague  that  it  is  worth¬ 
less.  He  has  under-rated  it,  both  as  to  soil  and  climate.  It 
contains  a  vast  deal  of  land,  it  is  true,  that  is  barren  and  worth¬ 
less  ;  but  not  a  little  that  is  highly  productive.  To  that  may  be 
added  its  commercial  advantages,  which  will,  in  time,  prove  to 
be  great.  We  must  not  overlook  the  important  events  to  which 
I  have  alluded  as  having  recently  occurred  in  the  eastern  portion 
of  Asia.  As  great  as  they  are,  they  are  but  the  beginning  of  a 


THE  WATERWAYS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  307 


series  of  a  similar  character,  which  must  follow  at  no  distant  day. 
What  has  taken  place  in  China,  will,  in  a  few  years,  be  followed 
in  Japan,  and  all  the  eastern  portions  of  that  continent.  Their 
ports,  like  the  Chinese,  will  be  opened  ;  and  the  whole  of  that  por¬ 
tion  of  Asia,  containing  nearly  half  of  the  population  and  wealth 
of  the  globe,  will  be  thrown  open  to  the  commerce  of  the  world  and 
be  placed  within  the  pales  of  European  and  American  intercourse 
and  civilization.  A  vast  market  will  be  created,  and  a  mighty 
impulse  will  be  given  to  commerce.  No  small  portion  of  the  share 
that  would  fall  to  us  with  this  populous  and  industrious  portion 
of  the  globe  is  destined  to  pass  through  the  ports  of  the  Oregon 
Territory  to  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  instead  of  taking  the 
circuitous  and  long  voyage  around  Cape  Horn ;  or  the  still  longer, 
around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  It  is  mainly  because  I  place  this 
high  estimate  on  its  prospective  value  that  I  am  so  solicitous  to 
preserve  it,  and  so  adverse  to  this  bill,  or  any  other  precipitate 
measure  which  might  terminate  in  its  loss.  If  I  thought  less  of  its 
value,  or  if  I  regarded  our  title  less  clear,  my  opposition  would  be 
less  decided.” 

The  present  witnesses  the  culmination  of  this  remarkable  pro¬ 
phecy  made  by  one  of  America’s  ablest  statesmen  more  than 
seventy  years  ago. 


SPANISH  AMERICA  AND  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN 


THE  MONARCHICAL  PLANS  OF  GENERAL  SAN 

MARTIN 

E.  Larrabure  y  Unanue 

Extracted  from  Les  Archives  des  Indes  et  la  Bibliotheque  Colom- 
bine  de  Seville:  Renseignements  sur  leurs  richesses  bibliographiques 
et  sur  V exposition  d’anciens  documents  relatifs  a  V  Amerique,  pp. 
51-56,  and  presented  to  the  Panama-Pacific  Historical  Congress, 
by  Senor  Don  E.  Larrabure  y  Unanue,  President  of  the  Historical 
Institute  of  Lima  (Peru),  former  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  and 
Vice-President  of  the  Republic. 

I  propose  in  this  paper  to  give  an  account  of  one  of  the  most  im¬ 
portant  files  which  I  examined  at  Seville.  It  is  classified  as : 
Axidiencia  de  Lima,  Expediente  sobre  el  levantamiento  del  Peru. 
Ano  1821.  Legajo  N°  28.  Est.  3.  Caj.  1. 

It  contains  chiefly  manuscripts  and  a  very  few  printed  doc¬ 
uments.  Among  the  latter,  there  is  one  of  sixteen  folio  pages, 
printed  at  Lima  in  the  “Casa  de  Expositos,”  1820.  It  is  a  Mani¬ 
festo  of  the  meetings  which  had  been  held  in  the  city  of  Miraflores 
to  examine  the  dealings  with  General  San  Martin  and  the  doc¬ 
uments  presented  by  those  who  had  been  concerned  therein. 

It  is  well  known  that  these  negotiations  failed.  “I  infinitely 
regret,”  said  General  San  Martin  to  Viceroy  Pezuela,  in  a  letter 
written  at  Chincha,  October  5,  1820,  “that  your  Excellency  is  not 
authorized  to  work  for  peace,  except  on  the  impossible  condition 
of  swearing  allegiance  to  the  Spanish  Constitution.  .  .  .”  This 
statement  is  confirmed  two  days  later  by  the  viceroy,  who  de¬ 
clares  in  fact  that  he  does  not  have  the  said  authorization. 

Next  come  other  documents,  some  originals  and  some  copies, 
useful  in  studying  the  history  of  those  efforts  toward  peace  which, 
in  Peru  as  in  the  other  American  countries,  always  failed  for  the 
same  reason,  namely  the  absurd  pretension  of  Ferdinand  VII, 

311 


312 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


who  was  then  a  mere  plaything  of  court  politics,  that  the  American 
peoples  should  renounce  the  right  to  govern  themselves. 

Next  is  docketed  the  correspondence  between  the  new  viceroy 
of  Lima,  La  Serna,  and  General  San  Martin  in  1820,  various 
notes,  instructions  for  the  celebration  of  the  armistice,  and  other 
papers,  even  later  in  date  than  the  proclamation  of  independence 
in  the  main  square  of  Lima  on  July  28,  1821,  as  well  as  documents 
relating  to  the  capitulation  of  the  Callao  fortresses  in  September 
1821. 

But  what  is  even  more  important  than  all  these,  is  a  bundle  of 
papers  which  is  marked  :  Reserved. 

To-day,  in  historical  material,  there  is  no  longer  any  such  thing 
as  “Reserved.”  I  remember  a  prominent  Venezuelan  historian, 
somewhat  hostile  to  General  San  Martin,  who  said,  in  speaking 
of  the  general’s  conferences  with  the  royal  deputy,  Manuel 
Abreu  :  “It  will  not  be  posible  to  determine  that  [i.e.,  what  took  place 
in  these  conferences),  until  the  correspondence  of  Abreu  in  the 
Spanish  Archives  is  studied.”  1 

Well,  this  correspondence  has  recently  been  in  my  hands,  and 
everything  in  it  (if  the  Venezuelan  critic  will  pardon  me) 
redounds  to  the  honor  of  General  San  Martin. 

After  the  word  Reserved,  there  is  added  a  short  note :  “Manuel 
Abreu,  sent  out  for  the  pacification  of  Peru,  forwards  from  Lima, 
under  date  of  November  6,  1821,  an  account  of  the  events  which 
took  place  during  the  negotiations  with  the  dissidents,  and  encloses 
the  gazettes  of  this  City  up  to  September  21,  1821,  together  with 
other  printed  documents.” 

A  complete  copy  of  this  very  interesting  autograph  document 
would  take  a  great  deal  of  space  in  this  brochure,  and  I  prefer  to 
extract  from  it  what  is  of  greatest  importance. 

The  envoy  Abreu  reports  to  his  government :  that,  since  Ne- 
pena,  he  observed  enthusiasm  for  the  cause  of  independence  ;  that 
the  authorities  had  orders  to  treat  him,  as  he  passed  through,  as  if 
he  were  “General  San  Martin  himself;”  that  the  Spanish  pris¬ 
oners  were  well  treated,  and  charged  him  to  thank  the  said  gen¬ 
eral  on  their  behalf ;  that  the  general  sent  Sres  Arenales  and 

1  Carlos  A.  Villanueva,  Ferdnando  VII  y  los  nuevos  Estados.  P.  Ollendorff, 
Paris,  1914. 


MONARCHICAL  PLANS  OF  GENERAL  SAN  MARTIN  313 


Guido  to  receive  him ;  that,  afterwards,  the  general  received  him 
at  Huaura  and  that  he,  for  his  part,  fulfilled  the  prisoners’  request. 

He  adds  that  the  general,  having  invited  him  to  lunch  on  March 
28,  placed  him  on  his  right,  while  General  Heres  sat  at  the  gen¬ 
eral’s  left. 

During  the  conversation,  the  finest  courtesy  was  observed,  and 
the  persons  present  contented  themselves  with  saying  that  a 
treaty  would  never  be  possible  on  any  terms  other  than  a  recog¬ 
nition  of  independence ;  to  which  he  replied  that,  although  his 
instructions  were  more  ample  than  those  which  had  been  re¬ 
ceived  by  Viceroy  Pezuela,  they  did  not  admit  of  these  terms. 

Here  is  an  exact  account  of  the  statements  which  General 
San  Martin  made  to  him  as  he  was  leaving : 

“This  evening,  before  leaving  for  Chancay,  San  Martin  came 
to  bid  me  good-by  and,  taking  me  aside,  he  told  me  that  he  had 
planned  to  take  Lima  by  investing  it  and  by  preventing  all  ship¬ 
ments  of  provisions,  without  engaging  in  an  action ;  and  that,  if 
he  were  attacked  and  deemed  it  expedient  to  resist,  intrenched  at 
Huaura,  the  gravel  pits  must  spell  disaster  for  the  Spaniards  in 
their  retreat  toward  Lima.  If,  however,  he  did  not  meet  them 
before  he  embarked,  and  did  not  by  chance  baffle  them  with 
the  great  success  for  which  he  was  reserving  his  own  soldiers, 
he  did  not  care ;  all  that  was  needed  for  the  Lima  troops  was 
an  uprising  of  the  whole  country.  That  if  Spain  persisted  in 
continuing  the  war,  Peru  would  be  exterminated ;  and  then, 
without  taking  any  account  of  the  means  employed,  he  would 
mobilize  all  those  whom  he  had  under  his  hand ;  although  it 
was  not  a  part  of  his  plans  to  adopt  this  measure,  for  the 
same  disasters  that  had  happened  at  San  Domingo  would  result. 
That  he  knew  very  well  the  powerlessness  of  America  to  erect 
itself  into  an  independent  republic,  because  it  lacks  virtues 
and  civilization ;  and  that,  in  the  presence  of  these  extremes, 
he  had  agreed  with  the  men  of  his  army  to  crown  a  Spanish 
prince,  as  the  only  means  of  stifling  the  currents  of  hostility 
and  of  reorganizing  families  and  interests;  and  that,  out  of 
honor  and  deference  to  the  Peninsula,  advantageous  commercial 
treaties  would  be  made ;  and  that,  as  touching  Buenos  Aires, 
(here  there  are  two  and  a  half  lines  in  cipher,  various  signs,  and 


314 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


above  them,  the  translation  which  follows)  he  would  make  use  of 
his  bayonets  to  compel  them  to  this  idea  in  case  they  were  not 
favorable  to  it.  In  no  wise  did  I  enter  into  a  discussion,  content¬ 
ing  myself  with  the  fact  that  he  had  doubtless  taken  note  of  my 
argument  with  Guido  and  Paroissien.  We  separated  ;  and  Guido 
and  Paroissien,  another  colonel  and  a  commandant  accom¬ 
panied  me  as  far  as  Huacho.” 

He  then  relates  that  he  arrived  at  the  quarters  of  the  Spanish 
General  Canterac,  and  he  complains  of  the  general’s  conduct  and 
of  the  rude  treatment  he  received  at  the  hands  of  the  latter’s 
aides-de-camp. 

As  soon  as  he  reached  Lima,  he  made  haste  to  visit  the  viceroy. 
In  his  dispatch,  he  shows  himself  little  in  sympathy  with  General 
Canterac,  and  criticises  at  the  same  time  the  Spanish  journalist 
Rico.  New  conferences  at  Puneliauea  having  been  arranged, 
he  gives  a  report  of  them,  and  adds  that  General  San  Martin  sought 
him  out  again  to  propose  to  him  the  formation  of  a  regency  at 
Lima ;  the  union  of  the  two  armies,  following  a  Declaration  of 
Independence ;  and  a  journey  to  the  Peninsula  to  be  made  by  him, 
San  Martin,  in  order  to  ask  of  the  Cortes  at  Madrid  a  Spanish 
prince  as  king.  He  then  reports  the  interview  of  Viceroy  La 
Serna  with  General  San  Martin. 

This  communication,  bearing  the  autograph  signature  of  the 
envoy  Manuel  Abreu,  is  dated  at  Lima,  November  6,  1821,  and 
addressed  to  “His  Excellency  the  Secretary  of  State  and  of  the 
Overseas  Government.” 

It  would  have  been  impossible  for  General  San  Martin  to  carry 
farther  his  sacrifices  in  favor  of  peace  and  of  the  race.  But  what 
favorable  consideration  did  they  receive  at  court.  Absolutely 
none ! 

When  in  this  document  is  seen,  as  in  those  which  precede  and 
in  those  which  follow  it,  the  noble  peace-loving  spirit  and  the  de¬ 
sire  to  come  to  an  understanding  with  the  mother  country ;  when 
in  Mexico,  Colombia,  and  other  countries  of  America,  the  mani¬ 
festations  tending  in  the  same  direction  are  recalled ;  when 
the  way  in  which  the  court  replied  is  observed,  scorning  the  advice 
of  its  own  envoys  and  even  deeply  wounding  their  delicacy  and 
their  patriotism,  to  the  extent  of  letting  them  die  in  exile,  as 


MONARCHICAL  PLANS  OF  GENERAL  SAN  MARTIN  315 


happened  to  poor  O’Donoju;  when  the  stubborn  refusal  of 
Ferdinand  VII,  the  indifference  of  the  Chambers,  and  inconsist¬ 
encies  such  as  the  Count  of  Toreno’s,  in  a  matter  which  involved  the 
rights  of  the  colonies  is  witnessed  ;  when  it  is  learned  that  England 
and  France  made  no  opposition,  but  rather  accepted  it  that  the 
Americans  should  stipulate  for  concessions  favorable  to  Spanish 
commerce  and  industries ;  when  all  this  is  considered,  one  comes 
to  think  that  never  in  the  history  of  the  world  have  there  been 
men  more  virtuous  or  more  worthy  of  veneration  than  the  founders 
of  Spanish-American  independence,  nor  a  cause  more  just  and 
more  noble  than  theirs. 

We  must  repeat  these  truths,  because  they  are  unknown  to 
many  foreigners  who,  in  their  ignorance,  are  so  ready  to  calumniate 
the  Spanish-American  peoples. 

And  at  the  head  of  these  eminent  men,  History  will  always  place 
General  San  Martin. 

The  historian  Mitre,  speaking  of  the  envoy  Manuel  Abreu, 
characterizes  him  as  “a  man  of  little  talent  and  little  discretion,” 
and  he  attacks  General  San  Martin  on  the  subject  of  his  mo¬ 
narchical  ideas.  In  my  opinion,  these  judgments  are  rather 
thoughtless.  In  the  light  of  what  I  know,  Abreu  appears  rather 
as  a  sober-minded  functionary,  without  animosity,  who  commu¬ 
nicated  to  his  government  what  the  nature  of  his  mission  obliged 
him  to  report. 

As  for  General  San  Martin’s  monarchical  ideas,  can  they  be 
condemned  by  a  sound  criticism?  No.  The  foremost  captains 
held  the  same  ideas,  just  as  did  those  men  of  superior  intelligence 
whom  we  have  to  thank  for  independence.  “Bolivar  was  not  a 
republican;  he  was  a  monarchist  at  heart.”  1 

And  this  is  not  the  opinion  of  a  single  writer ;  Bolivar  himself 
said :  “  Our  fellow-countrymen  are  not  yet  qualified  to  exercise 
their  rights  fully  and  independently,  because  they  lack  those 
political  virtues  which  characterize  the  true  republican.”  2 

Views  similar  to  those  of  these  two  great  geniuses  were  held 
by  Dr.  Unanue  and  the  leading  men  of  the  time :  they  believed 


1  C.  A.  Villanueva,  Fernando  VII  y  los  nuevos  Estados,  p.  184. 

2  Manifiesto  de  Cartagena,  by  Colonel  Bolivar,  1812.  Jules  Mancini,  Bolivar, 
Paris,  1914. 


316 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


that  after  the  colonial  government,  which  had  lasted  for  three 
centuries,  the  people  were  not  ready  to  go  over  suddenly  to  a 
Republican  form  of  government. 

The  education  which  had  been  received  by  the  middle  and  lower 
classes  of  the  Spanish  colonies  was  very  different  from  that  of  the 
English  possessions  of  North  America;  and  as  for  France,  whose 
democratic  institutions  might  be  taken  as  a  model  by  the  new 
states  of  North  America,  the  difference  in  civilization  and  prog¬ 
ress  was  even  more  considerable. 

These  are  the  reasons,  certainly  well  founded,  why  the  princi¬ 
pal  generals  and  exponents  of  South  American  emancipation  fore¬ 
saw  a  period  of  bloody  revolts  and  of  anarchy  which  might  well 
compromise  or  delay  the  success  of  their  work;  while  in  the 
constitutional  monarchical  form  of  government  they  saw  a  neces¬ 
sary  transition  to  the  republican,  just  as  later  happened  in 
Brazil.  Were  they  right? 

There  are  some  writers  who  say  no. 

But  we  must  distinguish  between  the  criticism  which  is  inspired 
by  the  philosophy  of  history,  and  the  criticism  which  is  fitted 
rather  to  flatter  popular  appetites  and  which  readily  arouses  the 
enthusiasm  of  inexperienced  persons. 

As  for  me,  I  choose  the  former. 


THE  EARLY  EXPLORATIONS  OF  FATHER  GARCES  ON 
THE  PACIFIC  SLOPE 


Herbert  E.  Bolton 

It  is  the  popular  opinion  in  the  country  at  large,  inculcated 
by  uninformed  writers  of  school  histories,  that  Spanish  activities 
within  the  present  limits  of  the  United  States  reached  their  climax 
with  the  founding  of  St.  Augustine  and  Santa  Fe.  The  fact  is, 
however,  that  from  1519  to  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
Spain  continued  steadily  to  extend  her  frontiers  northward,  and 
that  the  last  third  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  a  period  of  as 
great  advance  as  any  other  of  equal  length  after  the  death  of 
Cortes.  This  activity  involved  not  only  the  founding  of  new 
missions  and  settlements  and  the  occupation  of  new  military 
outposts,  but  embraced  also  an  extensive  series  of  explorations, 
quite  as  vast  and  important  for  territory  now  within  the  United 
States  as  the  earlier  expeditions. 

Before  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  Spanish  settlement 
spread  northward  from  the  West  Indies  into  Florida,  and  in  north¬ 
ern  Mexico  to  a  line  roughly  drawn  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rio 
Grande,  through  Cerralvo,  Parral,  and  San  Juan  de  Sinaloa. 
In  the  course  of  the  seventeenth  century  and  the  first  half  of  the 
eighteenth,  the  wide  interstices  were  filled  in,  and  another  tier 
of  provinces  was  carved  out  in  the  north  —  New  Mexico,  Coahuila, 
Texas,  Nuevo  Santander,  Sonora,  and  Baja  California  —  a  series 
of  jurisdictions  extending  from  the  Pacific  Ocean  nearly  to  the 
middle  of  the  present  state  of  Louisiana. 

In  the  course  of  this  work  of  frontier  colonization,  the  country 
which  had  been  hurriedly  run  over  in  the  early  sixteenth  century 
was  gradually  reexplored  in  greater  detail.  On  the  northern 
borders  Ivino  reached  the  Gila,  Keller  and  Sedelmayr  crossed  it, 
Castillo  and  Guadalajara  reconnoitered  the  middle  Colorado 
of  Texas,  Onate  crossed  the  Arkansas,  Villazur  reached  the  North 

317 


318 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Platte,  and  Bustamante  y  Tagle  went  well  down  the  Arkansas, 
while  the  whole  southeastern  quarter  of  Texas,  east  of  Eagle  Pass 
and  south  of  San  Saba,  was  quite  thoroughly  explored. 

But  as  late  as  1769  the  interior  of  Alta  California  was  practically 
unknown,  the  California  coast  had  not  been  run  by  a  recorded 
exploration  since  Vizcaino,  the  Utah  Basin  was  all  but  untrod  by 
white  man,  the  trail  from  Santa  Fe  to  the  Missouri  had  been  little 
used  by  Spaniards  since  1720,  the  whole  northern  half  of  Texas 
was  almost  unknown  to  recorded  exploration,  and  direct  communi¬ 
cation  had  never  been  established  between  Santa  Fe  and  San 
Antonio,  or  between  El  Paso  and  San  Antonio.  To  retrace  these 
forgotten  trails  on  the  borders  of  the  settled  portions  of  New  Spain, 
and  to  push  far  beyond  the  borders  by  water  to  Alaska,  and 
by  the  land  to  the  Sacramento,  the  San  Joaquin,  the  Utah  Basin, 
and  even  to  the  upper  waters  of  the  Missouri,  was  the  exploratory 
work  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  later  eighteenth  century. 

One  of  the  noteworthy  figures  in  this  work  was  Fray  Francisco 
Hermenegildo  Garces,  a  Franciscan  missionary  of  the  College  of 
Santa  Cruz  de  Queretaro.  After  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  from 
Pimeria  Alta  in  1767,  fourteen  Queretarans  were  sent  to  take 
their  places.  Among  them  was  Father  Garces,  who  was 
assigned  to  the  mission  of  San  Xavier  del  Bac,  then  and  still 
standing  nine  miles  south  of  Tucson.  It  was  his  position  at  this 
northernmost  outpost,  combined  with  his  rare  personal  qualities, 
that  brought  him  into  prominence  in  the  new  wave  of  frontier 
advance.  His  principal  contributions  to  the  explorations  of  the 
period  were  (1)  to  reopen  the  trails  made  by  Kino,  Keller,  and 
Sedelmayr,  to  the  Gila  and  through  the  Papagueria,  (2)  to  serve 
as  pathfinder  across  the  Yuma  and  Colorado  deserts,  and  as  guide 
for  Anza  to  the  foot  of  the  San  Jacinto  Mountains,  when  he  led  the 
first  overland  expedition  from  Sonora  to  California,  and  (3)  to 
discover  a  way  from  Yuma  to  New  Mexico,  and  across  the  Mojave 
desert  to  Los  Angeles  and  the  Tulares,  and  between  these  two 
points  by  way  of  the  Tejon  Pass.  Altogether,  his  pathfinding, 
accomplished  without  the  aid  of  a  single  white  man,  covered  more 
than  a  thousand  miles  of  untrod  trails,  and  furnished  an  example 
of  physical  endurance  and  human  courage  that  have  rarely  been 
excelled. 


EARLY  EXPLORATIONS  OF  FATHER  GARCES  319 


But  the  place  of  Garces  in  southwestern  exploration  in  general 
has  been  well  established  through  the  scholarly  work  of  Dr.  Coues, 
and  he  needs  no  eulogy  from  me.  The  occasion  for  reopening 
the  subject  arises  from  the  discovery  of  much  new  material  regard¬ 
ing  Garces  since  Coues  published  the  diary  of  1775  in  1900.  No 
attempt  will  be  made  to  do  over  again  what  Coues  has  done  so  well ; 
and  the  emphasis  of  this  paper  will  be  directed  to  the  three  fol¬ 
lowing  points:  (1)  Recent  accessions  to  original  manuscript  ma¬ 
terials  relating  to  the  early  explorations  of  Father  Garces.  (2) 
The  new  light  shed  by  these  materials  upon  Garces’s  early  explora¬ 
tions  in  general,  and  upon  his  journey  of  1771  in  particular,  and, 
(3)  The  importance  of  Garces  in  the  opening  of  an  overland  route 
to  Los  Angeles. 

Up  to  the  present  our  knowledge  of  the  explorations  of  Father 
Garces  has  been  confined  almost  wholly  to  what  is  contained  in 
Arricivita’s  Cronica  Apostolica  and  the  diary  of  the  fifth  and  last 
expedition  —  that  edited  by  Coues.  For  the  fourth  expedition, 
made  with  Anza,  Bancroft  had  access  to  an  abridgment  of  a  diary 
made  by  Anza,  and  Eldredge  had  Anza’s  diary  in  one  of  its  com¬ 
pleter  forms.  For  the  first  four  expeditions  the  sole  guide  of  Coues 
was  what  is  contained  in  Arricivita  and  the  summary  of  Anza’s 
diary  given  by  Bancroft. 

In  addition  to  Arricivita  and  the  Anza  diary  of  1774,  known 
to  Bancroft  and  Eldredge,  and  the  diary  of  the  fifth  expedition 
(1775-177G),  we  now  have,  from  the  Mexican  archives,  the  follow¬ 
ing  manuscript  materials : 

(a)  Diary  by  Garces  of  his  expedition  of  1770. 1 

(i b )  Diary  by  Garces  of  his  expedition  of  1771.2 

(c)  Diary  by  Garces  of  his  expedition  of  1774.3 

(d)  Diaries  of  the  1774  expedition  by  Anza  and  Father  Juan 
Diaz.4 S 


1  Diario  que  se  ha  formado  por  el  Viage  hecho  d  el  Rio  Gila  quando  los  Yndios 
Pimas  Gilefios  me  llamaron  d  fin  de  que  baptisase  sus  hijos  que  estaban  enfermos  del 
Sarampion. 

*  Diario  que  se  ha  formado  con  la  ocasion  de  la  entrada  que  hize  a  los  vecinos  Gentiles. 

3  Diario  de  la  entrada  que  se  practica  de  orden  del  Ex™  Sr.  Vi  Rey  Dn.  Antonio 
Maria  Bucarely  y  Ursua  producida  en  Junta  de  Guerra  i  real  acienda  d  fin  de  abrir 
camino  por  los  rios  Gila  y  Colorado  para  los  nuebos  establecimientos  de  San  Diego  y 
Monte  Rey,  etc. 

4  Diario,  que  forma  el  Padre  Fr.  Juan  Diaz  Missionero  Appco.  del  Colegio  de  la 

Sta  Cruz  de  Queretaro,  en  el  viage,  que  hace  en  compafila  del  R.  P.  Fr.  Franco  Garces 


320 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


(' e )  A  summary  by  Garces  of  his  first  four  expeditions.1 

(/)  A  special  ethnological  report  by  Garces  based  on  the  fifth 
expedition,  and  supplementary  to  the  diary  edited  by  Coues.2 

(g)  A  great  quantity  of  correspondence  of  Garces,  Anza,  Diaz, 
and  others,  relating  to  the  general  question  of  northward  expansion 
from  Sonora  between  1768  and  1776,  of  which  Garces’s  explora¬ 
tions  formed  a  part. 

All  of  this  new  material  referred  to  was  discovered  in  the  archives 
of  Mexico  by  the  present  writer  between  the  years  1903  and  1908. 
Much  of  it  was  made  available  through  the  present  writer  to 
Richman  for  use  in  his  history  of  California ;  but  Mr.  Richman’s 
study  of  the  work  of  Garces  was  so  incidental  that,  practically 
speaking,  the  materials  thus  far  have  not  been  utilized  for  the 
purpose  in  question.3 

As  I  have  stated,  for  the  first  three  expeditions  of  Garces  — 
those  of  1768,  1770,  and  1771 — Arricivita  has  been  our  sole 
guide.  Regarding  the  first,  he  made  it  known  that  Garces  went 
west  and  north  through  the  Papaguerfa  to  a  village  on  the  Gila, 
but  did  not  indicate  what  or  where  the  village  was.  Coues  inferred 
from  what  Arricivita  states  that  the  rancheria  visited  on  the  Gila 
was  a  Papago  village.  But  we  now  know,  from  the  diary  of  1770, 
that  the  rancheria  was  the  Pima  village  of  Pitiaque,  a  short  dis¬ 
tance  below  Casa  Grande,  and  was  the  village  of  the  head  chief 
of  the  Pimas. 

Regarding  the  route  and  the  extent  of  Garces’s  expedition  to 
the  Gila  in  1770,  Coues  was  able  only  to  conjecture  that  it  extended 
to  some  point  below  modern  Sacaton.  But  from  the  diary  we  are 
now  able  to  fix  the  precise  limits,  both  where  he  struck  and  where 
he  left  the  Gila,  as  well  as  the  names  and  locations  of  most  of  the 
places  visited  between  these  points.  Garces  reached  the  Gila 
at  Pitac,  just  below  Casa  Grande.  From  there  he  passed  through 
Pitiaque,  Saboy,  Uturituc  and  Napcut,  before  reaching  Salt 

para  abrir  camino  desde  la  Provincia  de  la  Sonora  d  la  California  Septentrional,  y 
Puerto  de  Monterrey  por  los  Rios  y  Colorado,  etc. 

1  Copia  de  las  noticias  sacadas,  y  remitidas  por  el  Pe.  Predicador  Fr  Fran 00  Garces 
de  los  Diarios  que  ha  formado  en  las  quatro  entradas  practicadas  desde  el  afio  de 
68  hasta  el  presente  de  75  d  la  frontera  septentrinal  de  los  Gentiles  de  Nueva  Espaha. 

2  Report  by  Father  Garces  to  Fray  Diego  Ximenez,  in  Copia  de  barios  Papeles 
del  R.  P.  Fr  Fran™  Garces,  Missionero  en  la  Pimeria  alta. 

3  They  are  being  utilized  by  Professor  Charles  E.  Chapman  for  his  forthcoming 
work,  The  Founding  of  Spanish  California. 


EARLY  EXPLORATIONS  OF  FATHER  GARCES  321 


River;  and  below  that  stream  through  Suta  Queson,  around  the 
Gila  Bend  through  Tucabi  and  Ogiatogia  to  San  Simon  y  Judas 
de  Uparsoitac,  at  the  western  elbow  of  the  Great  Bend  of  the  Gila. 
From  there  he  returned  southeast  to  San  Xavier,  “travelling 
half  lost”  among  the  Papago  villages. 

Such  in  briefest  resume  is  the  light  shed  by  the  new  documents 
on  the  first  two  expeditions  of  Father  Garces.  Much  more  im¬ 
portant,  as  a  step  toward  California,  than  either  of  the  foregoing 
expeditions,  was  that  of  1771 ;  and  much  more  considerable 
is  the  new  light  shed  upon  it  by  our  new  materials.  Of  this 
expedition  Arricivita,  though  he  had  a  diary,  gave  a  most  confused 
account,  and  Coues  added  strangely  to  the  confusion.  Neither 
they  nor  any  one  else  has  hitherto  shown  that  Garces  was  the 
first  white  man  to  succeed  in  crossing  the  Colorado  desert  over 
w'hich  Anza  made  his  way  in  1774.  Bancroft  was  not  even 
sure  whether  Garces  crossed  the  Colorado  River  or  not ;  Coues 
wras  convinced  that  he  crossed  the  Colorado,  but  wras  com¬ 
pletely  at  sea  as  to  his  itinerary. 

So  badly  indeed  has  this  expedition  been  treated,  and  so  little 
has  its  importance  been  recognized,  that  nothing  will  serve,  even 
in  a  twenty-minute  paper,  short  of  a  general  restatement.  A 
mere  correction  or  supplement  here  and  there,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  earlier  journeys,  will  not  suffice. 

The  first  two  expeditions  had  been  made  for  missionary  pur¬ 
poses,  and  with  a  view  to  extending  the  missionary  frontier  to  the 
Gila.  Garces’s  enthusiastic  reports  had  much  to  do  with  advanc¬ 
ing  the  project  in  Mexico,  and  he  was  soon  given  to  understand 
that  its  success  was  certain.  Consequently,  he  undertook  another 
expedition,  to  search  for  the  best  sites  for  the  new  establishments 
and  to  prepare  the  heathen  for  the  coming  of  the  friars. 

Leaving  mission  San  Xavier  in  charge  of  a  supernumerary,  on 
August  S,  1771,  with  one  horse  and  three  Indian  guides,  he  jour¬ 
neyed  west.  The  first  stage  of  the  journey  was  through  the 
Papaguerfa  to  Sonoita,  a  deserted  outpost  which  had  been  estab¬ 
lished  by  Kino  in  1699,  and  abandoned  as  a  result  of  a  massacre 
in  1750.  On  the  way  he  passed  through  Ca  Cowista,  Pipia,  Aiti, 
El  Camoqui,  Estojavabi,  Cubba,  El  Aquitum,  and  Zonai.  It  had 
been  the  principal  purpose  of  Garces  to  go  to  the  Gila  Pimas,  but 


322 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


at  Cubba  he  heard  that  the  Yumas  were  friends  of  the  western 
Papagos ;  and  since  he  had  promised  while  on  the  Gila  to  go  to 
see  the  Yumas,  and  since  the  Pimas  were  hostile  to  that  tribe, 
he  concluded  that  this  was  his  opportunity  to  make  them  a  visit. 

The  Indians  at  Sonoita  raised  objections  to  his  passing  on,  but 
these  were  overcome,  Garces  says,  “by  means  of  divine  provi¬ 
dence,  the  good  will  of  the  governor,  and  my  firmness  and  tenac¬ 
ity”;  and  leaving  his  mission  Indians  and  apparatus  for  saying 
mass  at  Sonoita,  on  August  17  he  again  set  out  for  the  west. 

To  the  foot  of  the  Gila  range  he  was  still  on  a  known  road, 
for  it  had  been  travelled  several  times  by  Father  Kino.  But  it 
was  a  terrible  trail,  none  the  less  —  a  forbidding,  waterless  desert, 
which  has  since  become  the  graveyard  of  scores  of  travellers  who 
have  died  of  thirst,  because  they  lacked  the  skill  and  endurance'  of 
a  Kino  or  a  Garces.  Its  terrors  have  justly  given  it  the  name  of 
Camino  del  Diablo,  or  Devil’s  highway. 

After  passing  Tinajas  Altas,  the  tanks  in  the  mountain  top  dis¬ 
covered  by  Kino,  instead  of  turning  north  along  the  eastern  flank  of 
the  Gila  range,  as  Kino  had  always  done,1  Garces  passed  the  range 
and  headed  west  over  an  unknown  desert  along  the  sand  dunes 
near  the  present  international  boundary,  planning  to  go  directly 
to  the  Colorado.  But,  being  met  by  some  Pimas,  he  was  induced 
by  them  to  go  first  to  the  Gila.  Accordingly,  on  the  21st  he  turned 
north  and  on  the  23d  reached  the  Gila,  about  ten  leagues  above 
its  mouth,  and  east  of  the  Gila  range,  which  he  evidently  crossed 
on  the  way.  Turning  down  the  river  he  went  through  the  Nar¬ 
rows,  passed  the  Noragua  village  below,  and  at  ten  o’clock  at 
night  arrived  at  the  Yumas,  opposite  the  junction. 

From  this  point,  it  is  clear,  Garces  was  much  confused  as  to 
his  whereabouts,  and  Arricivita  and  Coues  were  equally  confused. 
Though  Garces  was  now  near  the  junction  of  the  Gila  and  the 
Colorado,  he  did  not  know  it,  and  for  many  days  he  continued 
down  stream  thinking  he  was  on  the  Gila,  and  looking  for  the 
Colorado.  While  on  his  next  journey,  in  1774,  he  discovered  his 
mistake,  and  confessed  it,  both  in  his  diary  and  his  Noticias.  His 
reason  for  making  the  mistake,  he  says,  was  “because  in  those 

1  According  to  Ortega,  Fatuher  Sedelmayr  in  1750  returned  from  the  lower  Colo¬ 
rado  to  Sonoita  across  the  Yuma  Desert  (Hist,  del  Nayarit,  452-453). 


EARLY  EXPLORATIONS  OF  FATHER  GARCfiS  323 


days  there  had  been  such  heavy  rains,  the  like  of  which  had  not 
been  seen  for  many  years,  that  the  Gila  was  greatly  swollen,” 
consequently  when  he  reached  the  Colorado  he  saw  no  increase 
in  the  size  of  the  stream  he  was  following. 

Next  day  the  principal  chief  of  the  region,  with  a  great  throng, 
came  across  the  river  with  presents,  and  offered  to  accompany 
Garces  on  his  journey  and  back  to  his  mission.  This  chief  was 
Ollyquotquiebe,  the  Yuma  later  known  as  Salvador  Palma,  and 
a  prominent  figure  in  the  next  decade’s  history.  But  in  his  diary 
Garces  calls  him  a  Pima,  Arricivita  so  records  him,  and  others 
have  followed  suit ;  the  consequence  is  that  Palma  has  been  first 
introduced  into  history  in  1774,  in  connection  with  the  Anza 
expedition,  instead  of  in  1771,  when  he  became  known  to  Garces. 
But  in  his  Noticias  Garces  corrects  this  error  as  well  as  the  fore¬ 
going. 

There  will  be  no  space  for  relating  the  incidents  of  Garces’s 
journey  from  this  point,  and  I  must  be  content  merely  to  indicate 
his  route.  He  asked  to  be  taken  to  the  Colorado,  and  twice  the 
chief  took  him  thither,  and  down  the  river  to  San  Pablo  (Pilot 
Knob),  but,  as  he  had  missed  the  junction,  and  as  the  stream  looked 
no  larger  than  before,  Garces  refused  to  believe  what  was  told 
him.  “  I  did  not  recognize  the  fact,”  he  says  in  his  Noticias,  “that 
I  was  travelling  along  the  banks  of  the  Colorado,  nor  would  I 
believe,  in  view  of  the  many  lies  which  I  have  noted  in  the  Indians, 
that  those  further  down  were  their  enemies.  But  [later]  I  learned 
both  of  these  facts.” 

The  Indians  tried  to  dissuade  him  from  going  below,  among 
their  enemies,  and  on  the  third  day  the  chief  deserted  him.  Three 
times  Garces  set  out,  alone  or  with  guides  who  deserted,  and  three 
times  he  was  forced  to  return  to  the  Yumas  at  San  Pablo  opposite 
Pilot  Knob. 

Finally,  on  September  1,  he  set  out  a  fourth  time,  and  on  the 
fourth  of  the  month  was  at  a  village  which  he  named  Santa  Rosa. 
It  was  visited  again  by  Garces  in  1774  and  in  1775 ;  and  from  the 
three  diaries  we  are  able  to  fix  its  location  as  about  at  Ogden’s 
Landing. 

In  the  course  of  the  next  twelve  days  Garces  toiled  on  under 
extreme  difficulty,  and  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Colorado  River 


324 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


at  tidewater,  near  Heintzelman’s  Point.  On  the  fifth  he  started 
south  from  Santa  Rosa,  got  lost,  and  went  close  to  the  river.  On 
the  sixth  he  ascended  a  hill  forming  a  sort  of  a  plain  overlooking 
the  river  bottom,  then  went  to  the  river  and  camped.  On  the 
seventh  and  eighth  he  made  little  progress  because  of  lagoons 
and  swamps.  On  the  ninth  he  was  where  the  river  turns  west, 
but  was  forced  to  go  east  to  get  round  the  lagoons.  During  the 
next  four  days  he  was  so  hindered  by  lagoons  and  mud  that  on 
the  thirteenth  he  decided  to  turn  back  to  the  nearest  watering 
place,  give  his  horse  two  days’  rest,  and  then  make  a  final  try  for 
the  sea  and  the  Quiquimas,  a  tribe  living  below  the  Yumas. 
Travelling  northward  all  night,  at  daybreak  he  stopped,  when 
his  horse  ran  away,  maddened  by  hunger  and  thirst.  Giving 
the  animal  up  for  lost,  Garces  travelled  north  on  foot  all  day,  but 
at  night,  by  good  luck,  his  horse  appeared  on  the  scene  by  another 
route. 

We  are  now  in  a  position  to  see  how  confused  Arricivita  and 
Coues  were  in  regard  to  Garces’s  course  up  to  this  point.  On 
the  basis  of  a  statement  by  Arricivita,  Coues  writes  with  confi¬ 
dence  :  “Next  day,  the  13th,  he  [Garces]  followed  a  trail  and  saw 
smoke  on  the  other  bank ;  but  being  unable  to  cross  he  continued 
down  the  river  westward  nearly  to  the  junction  of  the  Gila  with  the 
Colorado /  till  the  lagunas  and  tulares  prevented  his  reaching  that 
point,  and  he  turned  southward.”  Coues  continues:  “At  this 
date  Garces  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Yuma,  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life.  His  course  down  the  Gila  is  easy  to  trail,  as  a  whole  but  not 
in  detail.  Now  that  he  turns  south,  we  have  more  difficulty  in 
tracing  his  movements  from  the  imperfect  and  somewhat  confused 
account  in  Arricivita.” 

Thus,  it  is  clear  that  Coues  supposed  Garces  to  have  been  de¬ 
scending  the  Gila  all  the  time  from  August  23  to  September  13  — 
over  three  weeks — and  he  says  his  route  “is  easy  to  trail,  as  a 
whole.”  We  have  seen,  however,  that  Garces  was  on  the  Gila  but 
one  day,  August  23,  when  he  reached  the  junction,  and  that  on 
September  13,  when  Coues  thinks  he  reached  the  Colorado,  he 
had  been  on  that  stream  for  three  weeks  and  was  now  near  its 
mouth.  Garces,  however,  was  himself  laboring  under  the  same 


1  The  italics  are  mine. 


EARLY  EXPLORATIONS  OF  FATHER  GARCES  325 


error,  and  confessed  it  later  in  his  Noticias,  wherein  he  wrote : 
“I  afterward  learned  with  certainty  that  from  the  morning  of 
the  24th  till  I  left  the  Yumas,  which  was  on  the  14th  or  15th 
of  October,  I  was  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Colorado  and  in  its 
vicinity.”  The  ease  with  which  Coues  followed  Garces  for  three 
weeks  down  the  Gila  when  he  was  in  reality  on  another  stream 
indicates  that  he  was  not  looking  for  trouble. 

To  resume  Garces’s  journey.  Having  recovered  his  horse, 
on  the  15th  he  retraced  his  steps  toward  the  south.  Next 
morning,  the  16th,  he  encountered  some  Cajuenche  Indians, 
from  across  the  river,  fishing  in  the  lagoons.  They  took  him 
to  their  camp,  fed  him,  guided  him  to  the  river  three  leagues 
away,  made  twro  rafts,  and  carried  him,  horse,  and  baggage,  across 
the  stream,  to  a  large  settlement,  which  he  called  Las  Llagas  de 
San  Francisco,  in  honor  of  the  day,  September  17,  a  part  of  which 
he  spent  there.  This  settlement,  Las  Llagas  de  San  Francisco, 
was  the  traveller’s  farthest  point  south,  and  from  the  diary  of 
1775,  when  Garces  again  visited  the  place,  it  was  clearly  at  the 
head  of  tidewater,  near  Heintzelman’s  Point. 

The  next  stage  of  the  journey  of  Father  Garces  was  north¬ 
westward,  parallel  with  the  Cocopa  Mountains,  to  and  beyond 
San  Jacome,  his  last  base  of  operations  before  returning  to  the 
Yumas  at  Pilot  Knob.  For  this  portion  of  the  route  we  have 
(besides  the  diary  of  1771,  the  Noticias,  and  Arricivita)  the  diaries 
of  1774,  which  enable  us  to  fix  several  points  of  the  route  with 
approximate  precision.  Of  these  points  the  cardinal  ones  are 
Cerro  Prieto,  San  Jacome,  Santa  Rosa  de  las  Laxas,  El  Rosario, 
and  Santa  Olalla.  It  must  be  remembered  that  Garces  was  lost, 
thought  the  stream  he  had  crossed  was  the  Gila,  and  was  con¬ 
stantly  looking  for  the  Colorado,  as  well  as  for  new  tribes. 

On  the  night  of  the  16th  he  was  “entertained”  at  Las  Llagas 
by  a  powwow  which  kept  him  awake  all  night.  On  the  17th 
he  set  out  west  with  guides  to  find  the  Colorado,  but  they  deserted. 
Camping  out  alone,  he  continued  on  the  18th  through  tulares  and 
swamps  to  a  place  near  the  Sierra,  where  he  saw  seabirds.  But 
on  the  18th  he  returned,  perforce,  to  Las  Llagas. 

Here  the  Indians  offered  to  guide  him  back  to  his  mission  by 
way  of  the  sand  dunes  along  the  gulf.  But  he  insisted  on  going 


326 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


on  to  find  the  Colorado,  unaware  that  it  was  this  which  he  had 
crossed.  He  set  out  westward,  but  “the  guide  obstinately  turned 
north,”  and  on  the  21st  he  reached  a  large  lagoon,  many  leagues 
in  length,  over  which  Garces  was  towed  on  a  raft,  and  which  he 
called  San  Matheo.  From  Laguna  de  San  Matheo  he  went  three 
leagues  to  another  large  lagoon  or  bayou,  near  the  Sierra,  then 
returned.  Continuing  on  the  22d  up  the  west  bank  of  Laguna 
de  San  Matheo,  with  the  Sierra  on  his  left,  on  the  23d  he  passed  a 
black  mountain  (Cerro  Prieto)  standing  alone,  near  a  dirty,  salty 
arroyo,  with  a  deep  bed,  which  he  called  San  Lino.  On  the  24th 
he  visited  a  village  called  La  Merced,  to  the  southwest,  and  on  the 
25th  returned  to  San  Jacome,  near  the  arroyo  and  the  black 
mountain. 

The  approximate  location  of  San  Jacome,  Garces’s  last  base 
of  operations  westward  and  northward,  is  clear.  It  is  evident 
from  the  foregoing  that  since  leaving  Las  Llagas  he  had  travelled 
parallel  with  the  Cocopa  Mountains.  It  is  unsafe  to  pin  one’s 
faith  to  the  shifting  lakes  and  bayous  of  the  Colorado  flood  plain, 
but  the  lake  which  he  crossed  on  a  raft  corresponds  well  with  Lake 
Jululu,  sometimes  wet  and  sometimes  dry.  Arroyo  San  Lino 
was  clearly  New  River  :  the  lone  black  mountain  was  Cerro  Prieto, 
near  the  same  stream,  and  still  bearing  the  name  which  Garces 
gave  it.  San  Jacome,  therefore,  is  fixed  by  Garces’s  diary  as 
near  the  New  River  and  Cerro  Prieto,  and  here  its  deserted  site 
was  found  by  the  Anza  expedition  in  1774. 

From  San  Jacome  as  a  base,  Garces  now  worked  westward  and 
northward  several  days.  Before  he  set  out  he  was  given  clear 
reports  of  the  Spaniards  seven  days  away,  at  San  Diego,  and 
saw  Indians  who  had  visited  them.  He  was  also  told  of  In¬ 
dians  near  a  large  body  of  water,  three  days  west  and  beyond 
the  Sierra,  and  he  determined  to  find  them.  The  people,  or 
the  water,  or  both,  he  was  not  sure  which,  were  called  Maqueque, 
or  Maquete. 

On  the  26th  he  went  west  with  guides,  who  deserted  when 
he  refused  to  go  northeast  to  find  water.  “But,”  says  Garces, 
“  the  scarcity  of  water  did  not  bother  me,  since  I  thought  the  Colo¬ 
rado  River  must  be  very  near,  because  I  was  near  a  sierra  to  the 
west.”  He  continued  alone  to  the  mountain,  therefore,  but  finding 


EARLY  EXPLORATIONS  OF  FATHER  GARCfiS  327 


no  water  was  forced  to  return  to  San  Jacome,  travelling  during 
the  night  and  part  of  the  next  day. 

On  the  28th  he  set  out  again  to  find  the  Maqueques,  and  trav¬ 
elled  northwest  all  day  and  all  night  over  a  dry,  level  plain,  abso¬ 
lutely  without  water.  At  daybreak  he  found  himself  in  sight  of 
the  Sierra  Madre,  with  smaller  mountains  apart  from  it.  The 
main  range,  he  said,  ran  northwest,  and  then  turned  southward, 
almost  forming  a  figure  seven  (7).  Northwest  and  north  of  him 
he  saw  two  openings  or  passes  in  the  mountains.  He  had 
discovered  the  foot  of  the  San  Jacinto  Mountains  and  San  Felipe 
Pass,  which  led  Anza  to  Mission  San  Gabriel  three  years 
later. 

Being  in  sore  straits  for  water,  he  dared  not  try  to  make  the 
passes  nor  go  further  west.  He  turned  east  two  leagues,  there¬ 
fore,  to  look  for  water.  Failing  to  find  it,  he  was  forced  to 
retrace  his  steps  to  San  Jacome,  which  he  reached  at  noon 
on  the  31st.  The  inference  is  that  he  and  his  horse  had 
been  without  water  three  and  one-half  days.  This  may  be 
impossible. 

The  exact  point  reached  by  Garces  on  the  morning  of  September 
29th  may  not  be  determinable ;  but  its  approximate  location  is 
clear.  He  had  travelled  from  San  Jacome  all  day  and  all  night  over 
level  country,  and  with  a  good  horse  might  well  have  made  fifty 
miles  or  more.  He  had  gone  northwest  to  a  point  where  the 
Cocopa  Mountains  no  longer  obstructed  his  view  of  the  Sierra 
Madre  and  the  two  passes.  The  principal  points  to  be  de¬ 
termined,  then,  are  how  far  north  he  got,  and  whether  he  crossed 
the  Cocopa  range,  or  continued  east  of  it  till  he  passed  its  north¬ 
ern  extremity. 

That  he  did  not  cross  the  range  is  implied  in  the  diary  of  1771 
itself,  and  is  made  clearer  from  the  diaries  of  the  1774  expedition. 
That  expedition  passed  San  Jacome  and  Cerro  Prieto,  and  ten 
leagues  beyond  crossed  the  Cocopa  Mountains  south  of  Signal 
Mountain.1  As  soon  as  the  range  was  passed  the  large  body  of 
water  now  called  Lake  Maquata  was  discovered.  Garces  com¬ 
mented  on  it  at  length,  but  gave  no  hint  that  he  had  seen  it  before. 
Three  days  later  2  the  expedition  reached  Pozos  de  Santa  Rosa  de 


1  March  5. 


J  March  8. 


328 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


las  Laxas.1  This  is  our  clue  to  Garces’s  “  farthest  north,”  for  when 
he  arrived  there  in  1774  he  wrote  in  his  diary:  “On  my  last 
journey,  on  September  29,  I  reached  a  point  about  three  leagues 
east  of  this  place.”  The  water  called  Maqueque,  which  Garces 
tried  to  reach  beyond  the  Sierra,  was  doubtless  the  modern  Lake 
Maquata,  which  seems  to  preserve  the  very  name  it  had  then. 

The  confusion  of  Coues  over  the  whole  matter  may  be  illus¬ 
trated  at  this  point.  He  writes :  “  On  the  28th  Garces  appears  to 
have  been  near  the  mouth  of  the  (Colorado)  River,  or  at  any  rate 
near  tidewater”  for  at  dawn  next  day  he  discovered  the  Sierra 
Madre,  and  saw  “a  very  large  gap  or  opening  in  the  mountains, 
which  he  thought  was  the  entrance  of  the  Rio  Colorado  into  the 
sea.”  This  was  the  day,  it  will  be  remembered,  when  Garces 
discovered  the  foot  of  the'  San  Jacintos  and  San  Felipe  Pass,  a 
fact  which  is  easily  proved  by  the  diaries  of  1774  taken  together 
with  that  of  1771. 

Having  already  consumed  my  allotted  space,  I  must  hasten 
over  the  return  journey  of  Father  Garces.  After  making  two 
more  attempts  to  reach  the  Maqueques,  on  October  3  he  turned 
northeast  to  Santa  Olalla,  north  to  Santa  Rosa  and  the  sand 
dunes,  thence  east  and  northeast  to  the  Yumas  at  San  Pablo. 
San  Pablo,  Santa  Olalla,  and  Santa  Rosa  are  all  points  passed 
through  by  the  Anza  expedition  in  1774,  and  their  approximate 
location  is  well  established.2 

At  Los  Muertos,  above  San  Pablo,  he  learned  that  a  state  of 
war  existed  between  the  Yumas  and  the  Gila  tribes,  and  he  de¬ 
cided  in  consequence  to  make  his  way  back  to  Sonoita  by  way  of 
the  lower  Colorado.  Descending  the  river  on  the  12th,  he  crossed 
it  on  the  13th,  and  spent  the  day  making  preparations  to  pass 
the  horrible  desert.  On  the  14th  he  continued  south,  then 
turned  southeast  to  the  sand  dunes.  On  the  17th  he  struck 
his  outward  trail  at  the  foot  of  the  Gila  Range.  In  crossing  the 
Yuma  desert  by  way  of  the  sand  dunes  he  had  accomplished  a 
feat  which  Kino  had  three  times  tried  in  vain. 

The  significance  of  this  arduous  journey,  made  by  a  lone  man 

1  Wells  of  Santa  Rosa  of  the  flat  rocks,  which  have  been  identified  by  Eldredge 
as  Yuba  Springs,  four  miles  north  of  the  boundary  line. 

2  See  Eldredge,  The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco,  I,  Ch.  IV. 


EARLY  EXPLORATIONS  OF  FATHER  GARCES  329 


with  a  single  horse,  is  greater  than  would  appear  from  a  glance 
at  the  map.  By  the  time  Garces  got  back  to  Caborca  he  estimated 
that  he  had  travelled  300  leagues,  or  780  miles,  not  counting  the 
windings.  He  had  crossed  the  Yuma  desert  in  two  places,  a  feat 
never  before  recorded.1  He  had  opened  a  new  trail  from  the  head 
of  tidewater  to  upper  California  ;  on  his  return  he  had  crossed  the 
terrible  Colorado  desert  for  a  distance  of  nearly  a  hundred  miles. 

The  relation  of  Garces’s  undertaking  to  the  Anza  expedition  and 
to  the  opening  of  an  overland  route  from  Sonora  to  Los  Angeles  is 
especially  important.  In  1769,  according  to  Palou,  Anza  had 
offered  to  undertake  the  task,  but  was  not  encouraged.  But  the 
return  of  Garces  brought  the  matter  to  a  head.  After  talking 
with  Garces,  on  May  2,  1772,  Anza  renewed  his  proposal,  using 
as  his  principal  argument  the  information  which  Garces  had  ac¬ 
quired.  He  emphasized  the  fact  (1)  that  the  Indians  where  Garces 
had  been,  told  of  white  men  not  far  beyond,  and  whom  they  had 
seen ;  (2)  that  beyond  the  Colorado  River  Garces  had  discovered 
a  Sierra  Madre,  hitherto  unseen  from  the  east,  but  which  must 
be  that  beyond  which  was  San  Diego ;  (3)  that  the  desert  was 
much  narrower  than  had  been  supposed,  and  the  difficulties  from 
lack  of  water  therefore  much  less.  “  In  view  of  this,”  he  continued, 
“  this  Reverend  Father  and  I  concluded  that  the  distance  to  Monte 
Rev  is  not  so  enormous  as  used  to  be  estimated,  and  that  it  will 
not  be  impossible  to  compass  it.”  He  closed  by  requesting  that 
if  the  plan  should  be  approved  Father  Garces  might  be  permitted 
to  go  with  him. 

The  viceroy  was  greatly  interested,  and  he  asked  Garces  to 
make  a  special  report  and  send  his  diaries.  He  did  so,  and  they 
had  much  to  do  with  securing  favor  for  the  project.  Approval 
was  given,  and,  as  is  well  known,  early  in  1774  Anza  made  the 
memorable  expedition  which  opened  a  route  from  Sonora  to  San 
Gabriel  Mission,  thence  over  Portola’s  trail  to  Monterey.  Garces 
came  with  Anza  as  guide,  and  it  is  significant  that  from  the  foot 
of  the  Gila  range  to  the  foot  of  the  San  Jacintos  —  all  the  way 
across  the  two  terrible  deserts  —  Anza  followed  approximately 
the  trail  which  had  been  made  known  to  white  men  by  the  intrepid 
missionary  of  San  Xavier  del  Bac. 

1  See  note  on  p.  320. 


330 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


From  the  standpoint  of  mere  pathfinding,  between  San  Xavier 
and  Los  Angeles,  by  Anza’s  route,  it  would  be  fair  to  say  that  Kino 
made  known  the  way  from  San  Xavier  (near  Tucson)  to  the  foot  of 
the  Gila  range ;  Garces  across  the  Yuma  and  Colorado  deserts ;  and 
Anza  over  the  California  mountains.  Of  all  these  stretches  the 
most  difficult  by  far  was  the  Colorado  desert. 

Such,  in  brief,  are  the  history  and  the  significance  of  the  early 
explorations  of  Father  Garces.  The  last  and  greatest  one  has 
been  made  well  known  by  Coues. 


BRITISH  INFLUENCE  IN  MEXICO,  1822-26 


William  R.  Manning 

A  few  weeks  after  the  beginning  of  J.  Q.  Adams’s  administra¬ 
tion  instructions  were  given  to  Joel  R.  Poinsett,  who  was  going 
as  the  first  United  States  Minister  to  Mexico.  In  those  instruc¬ 
tions  Clay,  the  Secretary  of  State,  called  Poinsett’s  especial 
attention  to  the  declaration  in  the  president’s  message  of  sixteen 
months  earlier,  which  came  to  be  known  subsequently  as  the 
Monroe  Doctrine.  He  assumed  that  the  government  of  Mexico 
would  be  grateful  to  the  United  States  for  that  declaration  of 
principles  and  for  the  early  recognition  of  Mexican  independence. 
But  when  Poinsett  reached  his  post  in  May,  1825,  much  to  his 
surprise  he  found  Mexican  officials  decidedly  cool  in  their  attitude 
toward  his  country  and  himself.  Toward  the  British  representa¬ 
tive,  on  the  contrary,  they  were  enthusiastically  cordial.  Poin¬ 
sett  felt  it  necessary  to  counteract  this  British  influence  and,  if 
possible,  replace  it  by  United  States  influence.  The  purpose  of 
this  paper  is  to  show  how  England  acquired  this  dominant  influ¬ 
ence.1 

In  1822,  as  soon  as  Canning  took  control  of  the  British  foreign 
office,  he  began  seriously  to  consider  the  question  whether  England 
should  recognize  the  new  Spanish-American  states.  To  Welling¬ 
ton,  who  wras  sent  to  represent  England  at  the  Congress  of  Verona, 
Canning  wrote  on  September  27,  1822,  “that  he  must  under  no 
circumstances,  pledge  his  government  against  recognition,  and 
instructed  him  to  hint  that  England  might  be  compelled  to  rec¬ 
ognize  the  colonies  before  Parliament  met.”  2  On  December  21 

1  This  is  a  portion  of  a  chapter  of  a  book  shortly  to  be  issued  by  the  Johns  Hop¬ 
kins  University  Press  entitled  Early  Diplomatic  Relations  between  the  United  States 
and  Mexico  belonging  to  the  series  of  Albert  Shaw  Lectures  in  Diplomatic  History. 

2  Temperley,  Life  of  Canning,  p.  175,  citing  a  foreign  office  manuscript.  Rives, 

331 


332 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


of  the  same  year  he  instructed  Mackie,  whom  he  was  despatching 
on  a  special  mission  to  Mexico,  to  acquire  information  concerning 
the  probable  stability  of  the  Iturbide  government,  the  attitude 
toward  Spain,  and  the  disposition  toward  British  commerce. 
Mackie  was  authorized  to  declare  the  friendly  disposition  toward 
Mexico  and  the  determination  of  England  to  maintain  a  scrupu¬ 
lous  neutrality  between  Spain  and  her  late  colonies  so  long  as  the 
contest  between  them  should  continue.  He  was  to  learn  whether 
Mexico  would  be  favorable  toward  a  mediation  by  Great  Britain 
between  the  new  government  and  the  mother  country.1 

Mackie  reached  Mexico  about  the  middle  of  1823,  a  few  months 
after  the  overthrow  of  Iturbide.  On  July  27  the  new  provisional 
government  appointed  General  Victoria  to  confer  with  the  British 
agent.  Four  conferences  were  held  within  the  next  month  be¬ 
tween  them.2  This  was  looked  upon  by  the  Mexicans  at  the  time, 
and  afterward  continually  alluded  to,  as  the  beginning  of  diplo¬ 
matic  relations  between  Mexico  and  Great  Britain.  On  Mackie’s 
return  to  England,  in  November,  he  bore  to  Migoni  (who  was 
already  in  England  attempting  to  raise  a  loan  for  his  govern¬ 
ment)  a  commission  as  Mexico’s  confidential  diplomatic  agent 
in  London.3  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  instructions  were  given 
to  Mackie  only  a  few  months  after  the  message  of  the  President 
of  the  LTnited  States  and  the  resolution  of  Congress  had  de¬ 
clared  for  recognition.  Mackie’s  arrival  in  Mexico  was  almost 
two  years  before  Poinsett’s.  The  fact  that  Mackie  was  only  a 
confidential  agent  while  Poinsett  was  a  minister  plenipotentiary 

United  States  and  Mexico,  1821-1848 ,  vol.  1,  pp.  46-48,  makes  the  relations  between 
England  and  Mexico  from  1822  to  1825  seem  very  unimportant. 

1  Canning  to  Mackie,  December  21,  1822,  Mexico,  Tratados  y  Convenciones,  vol. 
2,  p.  301  ;  Paxson,  Independence  of  the  South  American  Republics,  p.  204. 

1  Mexico,  Tratados  y  Convenciones,  vol.  2,  pp.  301-307,  gives  Victoria’s  instruc¬ 
tions  dated  27  de  julio  de  1823  and  the  minutes  of  the  four  conferences  held  31  de 
julio,  6  de  agosto,  7  de  agosto,  19  de  agosto  de  1823.  La  Diplomacia  Mexicana, 
vol.  2,  pp.  95-132  gives  these,  and  several  communications  between  Victoria  and 
his  government  concerning  the  conferences. 

3  See  Zavala,  Ensayo  Ilistdrico,  vol.  1,  p.  198,  which  says:  “Este  fue  el  prin- 
cipio  de  las  relaciones  diplomaticas  entre  ambas  naciones.”  On  page  253  he  com¬ 
pares  the  English  manner  of  recognizing  Mexico  with  that  of  the  United  States 
and  comments  on  the  difference.  On  page  265  he  tells  of  the  commission  which 
Mackie  bore  to  Migoni.  La  Diplomacia  Mexicana,  vol.  2,  pp.  150-206,  gives  the 
correspondence  between  Migoni  and  his  government  from  his  appointment,  Au¬ 
gust  2,  1823,  till  after  his  displacement  by  Michelena  nearly  a  year  later.  Paxson, 
Independence  of  the  South  American  Republics,  p.  218,  tells  of  Mackie’s  exceeding 
his  instructions  by  interfering  to  prevent  Mexico  from  concluding  a  commercial 
treaty  with  Spain  which  he  thought  was  nearing  completion  and  considered  in¬ 
imical  to  the  policy  and  commerce  of  the  British  Empire. 


BRITISH  INFLUENCE  IN  MEXICO 


333 


made  little  difference  to  the  Mexican  mind.  He  was  a  represent¬ 
ative  of  the  British  government. 

When,  in  spite  of  England’s  protest,  the  other  European  powers 
intervened  in  1823  to  restore  absolute  government  in  Spain, 
Canning  advanced  a  step  farther  in  his  approach  toward  opening 
friendly  relations  with  the  new  states.  It  was  the  proposal  of 
the  reactionary  powers  to  hold  a  conference  on  Spanish-American 
affairs  that  furnished  the  occasion  for  Canning  to  make  to  Rush, 
the  United  States  minister  in  London,  the  well-known  proposals 
for  a  joint  declaration  by  England  and  the  United  States  of  their 
policy  with  reference  to  the  new  governments  and  the  relation  of 
those  governments  to  the  mother  country.  Canning  was  not  yet 
prepared  formally  to  recognize  the  independence  of  the  new  states, 
and  declined  to  do  so  when  Rush  made  this  a  necessary  condition 
for  his  taking  the  responsibility  of  agreeing  to  the  joint  declaration 
in  the  name  of  his  government.1 

But  shortly  afterward,  on  October  9,  1S23,  in  his  conference 
with  the  French  minister,  Polignac,  Canning  made  the  declaration, 
also  well-known,  “That  the  British  government  were  of  the  opin¬ 
ion  that  any  attempt  to  bring  Spanish  America  again  under  its 
ancient  submission  to  Spain  must  be  utterly  hopeless;  .  .  . 
[and]  that  the  junction  of  any  foreign  power  in  an  enterprize  of 
Spain  against  the  colonies  .  .  .  [would  be  considered]  a  motive 
for  recognizing  the  latter  without  delay.”  2 

On  the  day  following  that  on  which  the  above  declaration 
was  made,  Canning  instructed  a  commission,  composed  of  Her- 
vey,  O’Gorman,  and  Ward,  to  go  to  Mexico  and,  if  certain  pre¬ 
scribed  conditions  should  be  found  to  exist  there,  invite  that  gov¬ 
ernment  to  send  a  representative  to  England  to  arrange  for  the 
interchange  of  diplomatic  missions.  They  were  to  make  it  clear 
“that  so  far  is  Great  Britain  from  looking  to  any  more  intimate 
connection  with  any  of  the  late  Spanish  provinces  than  that  of 
friendly  political  and  commercial  intercourse,  that  His  Majesty 
could  not  be  induced,  by  any  consideration  to  enter  into  any 

1  For  Canning’s  proposals  see  Moore,  Digest  of  International  Law,  vol.  6,  pp. 
386-392;  and  Chadwick,  United  Stales  and  Spain,  Diplomacy,  pp.  187-189;  or 
any  careful  study  of  the  evolution  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine. 

2  British  and  Foreign  State  Papers,  vol.  11,  pp.  49-51  ;  Paxson,  Independence  of 
the  South  American  Republics,  p.  206. 


334 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


engagement  which  might  be  considered  as  bringing  them  under 
his  dominion.  Neither,  on  the  other  hand,  would  His  Majesty 
consent  to  see  them  (in  the  event  of  their  final  separation  from 
Spain)  brought  under  the  dominion  of  any  other  power.”  1  If  a 
disposition  should  be  found  to  establish  a  monarchical  govern¬ 
ment  under  a  Spanish  prince  the  commissioners  were  to  encourage 
it;  but  they  were  “not  to  attempt  to  prescribe  to  the  Mexican 
authorities  this,  or  any  particular  course  of  action.”  2 

This  pledge  that  England  would  not  take  any  of  the  former 
Spanish  colonies  for  herself  nor  consent  to  any  other  power’s 
taking  them  was  of  immense  value  to  Mexico.  It  was  far  more 
positive  than  the  Monroe  declaration  and  was  clearly  disinter¬ 
ested,  which  that  was  not.  It  should  be  noticed  that  these  in¬ 
structions  were  given  some  two  months  before  President  Monroe’s 
message  was  published.  Not  only  was  this  more  positive  and 
disinterested,  but  the  power  and  prestige  of  England  left  much 
less  doubt  of  her  ability  to  afford  the  protection  thus  pledged. 
This  of  course  was  not  a  public  document ;  but  its  content  was 
made  known  to  the  Mexican  government. 

In  the  same  month  of  October,  1823,  Torrens  wrote  that  the 
government  at  Washington  was  being  roused  from  its  apathy  by 
reports  of  England’s  opening  relations  with  Mexico  which  might 
be  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  United  States.3  It  was  only  a  few 
days  before  Torrens  wrote  this  letter  that  President  Monroe  had 
received  Rush’s  dispatches  telling  of  the  proposals  by  Canning 
for  the  joint  declaration  by  England  and  the  United  States,  men¬ 
tioned  above,  and  had  asked  the  advice  of  Jefferson  and  Madison 
to  guide  him  and  his  cabinet  in  replying  to  the  English  proposals. 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  two  ex-presidents  and  most  of  the 

1  Quoted  by  Paxson,  Independence  of  the  South  American  Republics,  p.  210,  citing 
a  Foreign  Office  manuscript.  Migoni  to  Alamdn,  9  de  octubre  de  1823,  La  Diplomacia 
Mexicana,  vol.  2,  p.  168,  told  of  the  appointment  of  this  commission  and  its  prepara¬ 
tion  for  departure. 

2  Further  instruction  to  Mexican  Commissioners,  October  10,  1823,  Paxson, 
Independence  of  the  South  American  Republics,  pp.  211-213,  citing  Foreign  Office 
manuscript. 

3  Torrens  to  Secretario,  Filadelfia,  21  de  octubre  de  1823,  La  Diplomacia  Mexi¬ 
cana,  vol.  2,  p.  45  :  “En  la  de  18  hai  noticias  por  la  via  de  la  Habana,  que  corro- 
boran  las  del  14  ;  y  ademds  lo  que  se  dice  de  un  agente  que  regresaba  d  Londres 
con  ideas  favorables  respecto  d  la  consolidation  de  nuestro  Gobierno,  y  que  suponian 
haber  concluido  una  negotiation  con  Mexico,  hard  que  este  Gobierno  saiga  de  la 
apatia  y  procure  estrechar  relaciones  con  nosotros,  por  temor  de  que  los  ingleses  se 
adelanten  y  concluyan  un  tratado  que  les  quite  algunas  ventajas  en  el  comercio.” 


BRITISH  INFLUENCE  IN  MEXICO 


335 


cabinet  favored  meeting  the  English  advances  and  joining  in  the 
declaration,  even  at  the  expense  of  abandoning  their  hope  of  ac¬ 
quiring  Cuba,  Adams’s  determined  stand  for  independent  action 
prevailed.  Late  in  November  he  wrote  to  Rush  at  length  con¬ 
cerning  Canning’s  proposals  and  concluded  by  declaring:  “We 
believe,  however,  that  for  the  most  effectual  accomplishment  of 
the  object,  common  to  both  governments,  a  perfect  understanding 
with  regard  to  it  being  established  between  them,  it  will  be  most 
advisable  that  they  should  act  separately.”  1  A  few  days  later, 
in  keeping  with  the  determination  of  Adams,  the  so-called  Monroe 
Doctrine  was  proclaimed  to  the  world  in  the  President’s  message 
to  Congress. 

Thus  while  England  was  privately  renouncing  any  selfish 
intentions  and  generously  pledging  to  Mexico  (and  other  Spanish- 
Ainerican  states)  her  protection  against  any  power  except  Spain, 
the  United  States  was  refusing  to  join  with  England  in  publicly 
proclaiming  similar  principles.  Furthermore  the  reason  that 
Adams  refrained  from  joining  in  the  self-denying  declaration  was 
that  he  did  not  want  to  pledge  the  United  States  against  acquir¬ 
ing  Spanish-American  territory  if  the  opportunity  should  later 
present  itself.  The  motives  underlying  the  policy  of  the  United 
States  could  not  have  been  certainly  known  in  Mexico ;  but  it  was 
strongly  suspected  at  the  time  that  they  were  selfish;  and  sub¬ 
sequent  events  unfortunately  tended  to  confirm  the  suspicion. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  the  Mexican  officials  were  privately 
informed  of  Canning’s  offer  to  join  the  United  States  in  the  decla¬ 
ration  of  principles  and  of  Adams’s  refusal  to  accede  to  the  pro¬ 
posal.  In  view  of  Torrens’s  suggestion  only  a  few  weeks  before 
that  England’s  advances  toward  Mexico  were  rousing  the  Wash¬ 
ington  government  from  its  apathy,  it  is  quite  possible  that  the 
Mexican  officials  looked  upon  the  declarations  of  Monroe’s  mes¬ 
sage  as  a  result  of  England’s  friendship,  and  as  an  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  United  States  to  snatch  from  England  some  of  the 
benefits  of  that  friendship. 

1  Adams  to  Rush,  November  29,  1823,  Ms.,  Department  of  State,  Instructions, 
vol.  10,  p.  120.  Another  letter  from  Adams  to  Rush  written  the  same  day  contains 
virtually  the  same  declaration  as  the  so-called  Monroe  Doctrine.  Ibid.,  p.  125. 
Adams  to  James  Brown,  minister  to  Paris,  December  23,  1823,  ibid.,  p.  150,  in¬ 
structs  the  latter  to  be  guided  by  the  President's  message  to  Congress  at  the  begin- 


336 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


The  British  commission  consisting  of  Hervey,  O’Gorman,  and 
Ward,  whom  Canning  had  instructed  on  October  10,  1823,  reached 
Mexico  just  before  the  end  of  the  year.1  The  commissioners  were 
too  enthusiastic  in  their  efforts  to  produce  a  favorable  impression 
in  Mexico  concerning  the  attitude  of  England,  and  in  their  at¬ 
tempt  to  convince  Canning  that  the  Mexican  government  was 
stable.  After  only  about  three  weeks  they  despatched  a  very 
favorable  report,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  serious  Lobato 
revolt  was  then  in  progress.  About  a  week  later  Hervey  guaran¬ 
teed  a  loan  to  carry  the  Mexican  government  over  the  crisis. 
When  the  report  reached  London,  Canning  rebuked  the  commis¬ 
sion  for  sending  it  “not  only  ‘before  you  had  allowed  yourselves 
time  to  form  a  mature  judgment,’  but  at  ‘a  moment  of  public 
disturbance.’”  And  when  he  learned  of  the  loan  he  recalled 
Hervey  for  guaranteeing  it.  Morier,  who  was  sent  to  supersede 
Hervey  as  head  of  the  commission,  was  told  “  ‘  That  you  are  sent 
to  ascertain  the  fact  of  Mexican  independence,  not  actively  to 
promote  it ;  and  to  form  and  report  an  opinion  of  the  stability 
of  the  government,  not  to  prescribe  its  form  or  attempt  to  influ¬ 
ence  its  councils.’”2 

But  these  rebukes  were  unknown  to  the  Mexican  people; 
and  the  ultra-favorable  acts  of  the  commissioners  were  accepted 
as  expressive  of  the  sentiments  of  the  British  government.  The 
gratitude  of  the  Mexicans  for  the  support  which  they  felt  they 
were  receiving  from  England  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  late  in 
April  of  1824  the  question  was  considered  by  the  executive  and 
Congress  whether  the  approaching  birthday  of  the  king  of  Eng¬ 
land  should  be  publicly  celebrated.  It  was  decided  that  there 
should  be  no  official  demonstration  on  the  occasion.3 

In  response  to  the  invitation  which  the  British  commission  was 
authorized  to  extend,  Michelena  was  appointed,  on  March  2, 1824, 
Mexican  minister  to  London ;  and  Rocafuerte,  a  native  of  Quito 

ning  of  the  session  in  all  of  his  communications  with  the  French  court  concerning 
Spain  and  the  Spanish  American  countries. 

1  Paxson,  Independence  of  the  South  American  Republics ,  p.  219 ;  Bocanegra, 
Memoriae,  vol.  1,  p.  288;  Bancroft,  History  of  Mexico,  vol.  5,  p.  50;  Alam&n, 
Historia  de  Mejico,  vol.  5,  p.  782. 

2  Paxson,  Independence  of  the  South  American  Republics,  p.  219,  citing  Foreign 
Office  manuscripts ;  Canning  to  Hervey,  April  23,  1824  ;  same  to  same,  July  20, 1824  ; 
and  Canning  to  Morier,  July  30,  1824. 

3  Secretario  de  Relaciones  al  Congreso,  21  de  abril  de  1824,  Ms.,  Relaciones 
Exteriores. 


BRITISH  INFLUENCE  IN  MEXICO 


337 


but  a  citizen  of  Mexico,  accompanied  him  as  interpreter  and 
secretary.1  On  May  1,  1824,  they  left  Tampico,  and  they 
landed  at  Portsmouth  on  June  24.  Iturbide  had  just  left  on  his 
return  to  Mexico.  The  ex-emperor’s  act  had  shaken  confidence 
and  would  retard  England’s  recognition  of  Mexico,  Michelena 
reported ;  but  he  said  he  would  do  all  he  could  to  counteract  the 
unfavorable  impression.  He  reported  that  public  opinion  was 
decidedly  in  favor  of  early  recognition ;  and  the  government 
seemed  to  agree.  On  June  25  he  addressed  a  note  to  Canning 
saying  that  as  a  result  of  the  mission  of  Mr.  Hervey  the  Mexican 
government  had  sent  him  to  England  in  the  same  capacity  in 
which  Mr.  Hervey  had  gone  to  Mexico ;  and  he  asked  that  a  day 
be  appointed  on  which  he  might  present  his  credentials.2  Within 
less  than  a  week  Canning  had  received  him  with  great  friendliness, 
though  without  formally  recognizing  his  government.3 

Through  the  latter  half  of  the  year  1824  the  Mexican  represent¬ 
ative  had  several  conferences  with  Canning  at  which  the  most 
important  matter  discussed  was  the  probability  of  Spain’s  accepting 
the  mediation  of  England  between  herself  and  her  former  colonies, 
which  mediation  had  been  accepted  by  Mexico  and  had  been  urged 
upon  Spain  for  many  months  but  in  vain.  Formal  recognition  was 
delayed  by  England  in  the  vain  hope  that  Spain  might  be  induced 
first  to  recognize  her  former  colonies  in  return  for  special  favors.4 

Finally  Canning’s  patience  wras  exhausted  by  Spain’s  repeated 
delays,  and  at  the  very  end  of  the  year  1824  he  wrote  to  inform 
the  Spanish  government  of  his  resolution  to  recognize  the  new 
states.5  On  January  3,  1825,  he  announced  his  determination  to 

1  La  Diplomacia  Mexicana,  vol.  3,  pp.  3-6,  gives  Michelena’s  credentials  and 
instructions,  dated  March  2,  i824.  For  brief  allusions  to  this  mission  see  Bocane- 
gra,  Memorias,  vol.  1,  296;  Zavala,  Ensayo  Histdrico,  vol.  1,  p.  302;  Alam&n, 
Historia  de  Mijico,  vol.  5,  p.  782;  Bancroft,  History  of  Mexico,  vol.  5,  p.  51.  La 
Llave  had  been  appointed  and  resigned.  See  La  Diplomacia  Mexicana,  vol.  2, 
pp.  257-283. 

2  Michelena  to  Secretario,  Londres,  26  de  junio  de  1824,  enclosing  Michelena 
to  Canning,  25  de  junio  de  1824,  Mss.,  Relaciones  Exteriores  ;  La  Diplomacia  Mexi¬ 
cana,  vol.  3,  pp.  18,  25. 

3  Canning  to  Michelena,  Londres,  26  de  junio  de  1824,  Michelena  to  Secretario, 
27  de  junio  de  1824,  and  same  to  same,  3  de  julio  de  1824,  Mss.,  Relaciones  Ex¬ 
teriores  ;  La  Diplomacia  Mexicana,  vol.  3,  pp.  24,  25.  27. 

4  Numerous  despatches  between  Michelena  and  the  Mexican  government  in  Mss., 
Relaciones  Exteriores;  also  in  La  Diplomacia  Mexicana,  vol.  3,  pp.  31-138. 

6  Temperley,  Life  of  Canning,  p.  187  ;  Paxson,  Independence  of  the  South  Ameri¬ 
can  Republics,  p.  243,  citing  Foreign  Office  manuscript.  Michelena  to  Secretario, 
30  de  diciembre  de  1824,  La  Diplomacia  Mexicana,  vol.  3,  p.  139,  announced  with 
triumph  England’s  recognition:  “El  Ser  Supremo  que  dirige  la  suerte  de  las 
z 


338 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


the  diplomatic  corps  in  London.  On  the  same  day  he  sent  in¬ 
structions  to  Morier  and  Ward  to  guide  them  in  negotiating  a 
treaty  with  Mexico.  This  act  constituted  a  recognition  of  the 
independence  and  sovereignty  of  the  new  government.1 

The  Spanish  government  protested  vigorously  but  without 
avail.2  Equally  futile  were  the  remonstrances  of  the  London 
representatives  of  the  other  European  powers.3  England’s 
efforts  to  induce  Spain  to  admit  British  mediation  continued 
even  after  the  new  states  were  recognized.  During  the  first  half 
of  1825  several  notes  passed  and  several  conferences  were  held 
between  the  British  foreign  office  and  the  Mexican  agents.  But 
each  time  the  report  was  that  no  progress  had  been  made  and 
that  there  was  little  prospect  that  Spain  would  ever  consent  to 
treat  with  her  former  colonies.4 

Morier  who  had  been  appointed  to  supersede  Hervey  and  had 
received  his  instructions  from  Canning  late  in  July,  1824, 6  had 
found  an  enthusiastic  welcome  awaiting  him.  On  November  17, 
1824,  the  Mexican  government  had  reported  to  its  agent  in  Lon¬ 
don  that  Morier  had  reached  Jalapa,  and  that  the  proper  steps 

naciones,  ha  visto  el  merito  y  sacrificios  de  la  nuestra ;  los  apreci6  y  decedio  en 
nuestra  favor  la  gran  causa.  Todo  estd  acabado ;  la  Inglaterra  reconoce  nuestra 
Independencia.” 

1  Paxson,  Independence  of  the  South  American  Republics ,  pp.  220,  224,  citing 
Foreign  Office  manuscripts  ;  Bocanegra,  Memoriae,  vol.  1,  p.  376;  Alamin,  Hisloria 
de  Mejico,  vol.  5,  p.  815;  Zamacois,  Historia  de  Mejico,  vol.  11,  p.  608.  The  last 
two  give  January  1  as  the  date  of  Canning’s  announcement  to  the  diplomatic  corps. 

*  Canning  to  Los  Rios,  25  de  marzo  de  1825,  Mss.,  Relaciones  Exteriores.  This 
is  a  long  memorial,  of  which  the  transcript  covers  nine  typewritten  pages,  replying 
to  an  official  note  of  Zea,  the  Spanish  foreign  minister,  of  January  21,  1825,  pro¬ 
testing  against  English  recognition.  It  reviews  the  relations  between  England 
and  Spain  since  the  beginning  of  the  French  revolution,  and  especially  since  1809, 
refuting  Zea’s  charges  that  England  was  violating  treaties  and  national  rights  in 
recognizing  the  American  states.  Canning  justifies  England’s  conduct.  There 
is  an  abstract  of  the  Zea  and  Canning  notes  enclosed  with  Poinsett  to  Clay,  Sep¬ 
tember  25,  1825,  Ms.,  Department  of  State,  Despatches  from  Mexico,  vol.  1. 
The  memorial  of  Canning  is  in  Annual  Register,  vol.  67,  part  2,  p.  51.  See  also 
Paxson,  Independence  of  the  South  American  Republics,  pp.  244-247. 

8  Paxson,  Independence  of  the  South  American  Republics,  pp.  247-250. 

4  Michelena  to  Secretario,  Londres,  6  de  febrero  de  1825 ;  same  to  same,  6  de 
marzo  de  1825,  enclosing  a  memorandum  of  a  conference  between  Michelena  and 
Planta,  Canning’s  secretary,  of  4  de  marzo  de  1825  ;  Canning  to  Michelena  and 
Rocafuerte,  May  20,  1825,  inviting  them  to  a  conference ;  Memorandum  of  the 
conference  of  Michelena  and  Rocafuerte  with  Canning  and  Planta,  21  de  mayo  de 
1825;  Mss.,  Relaciones  Exteriores;  and  same  in  La  Diplomacia  Mexicana,  vol.  3, 
pp.  154,  160,  169,  180,  182. 

Shortly  after  this,  Michelena  received  instructions  to  leave  Rocafuerte  as  charge 
in  London  and  return  home  to  represent  his  government  in  the  approaching  Con¬ 
gress  at  Panama.  [Secretario]  to  Michelena,  Mexico,  2  de  abril  de  1825.  Ms., 
Relaciones  Exteriores;  La  Diplomacia  Mexicana,  vol.  3,  p.  176. 

6  Canning  to  Morier,  July  30,  1824,  Paxson,  Independence  of  the  South  American 
Republics,  p.  220,  citing  Foreign  Office  manuscript. 


BRITISH  INFLUENCE  IN  MEXICO 


339 


had  been  taken  to  receive  him  with  fitting  splendor.1  Early  in 
January,  1825,  the  minister  for  foreign  relations,  Lucas  Alaman, 
in  his  report  to  the  Mexican  Congress  on  foreign  affairs  dwelt  on 
the  value  to  Mexico  of  England’s  friendship.  Concerning  the 
danger  of  European  intervention  in  1823,  he  said:  “England, 
in  reply  to  the  invitation  of  the  minister  of  King  Ferdinand,  de¬ 
clined  attending  the  proposed  congress ;  and,  in  papers  presented 
by  the  English  Ministry  to  the  Parliament,  which  were  published, 
she  frankly  disclosed  the  liberal  principles  which  were  to  guide  her 
conduct.  Without  refusing  to  recognize  our  independence,  Eng¬ 
land  desired  that  Spain  should  first  take  the  important  step, 
indicating,  at  the  same  time,  that  she  would  not  long  wait  the 
tardy  policy  of  the  Cabinet  of  Madrid ;  and  she  frankly  declared 
that  she  could  not  suffer  any  power  or  league  of  powers,  to  inter¬ 
fere  with  an  armed  force  as  the  auxiliary  of  Spain,  in  the  questions 
pending  between  her  and  her  colonies.  ...  A  minister  pleni¬ 
potentiary  was  appointed  to  the  government  of  His  Britannic 
Majesty  so  soon  as  its  friendly  dispositions  were  known;  .  .  . 
The  diplomatic  agents  from  that  government  have  been  received 
and  regarded  with  the  consideration  due  to  a  nation  which  was 
the  first  among  those  of  Europe  to  open  relations  of  friendship  and 
good  correspondence  with  the  republic.”  2 

When  Canning’s  instructions  of  January  3,  1825,  reached 
Morier  and  Ward,  they  at  once  entered  upon  negotiations  which 
resulted  in  a  treaty  signed  on  April  6.  In  accord  with  the  friendly 


1  fSecretario]  to  Michelena,  17  de  noviembre  de  1824,  Ms.,  Relaciones  Exteriores, 
says :  “El  Sor  Morier  estd  ya  en  Jalapa  y  el  Govierno  ha  tornado  ya  las  medidas 
convenientes  pa  proporcionarle  qt0  pueda  necesitar  y  recibirlo  con  el  decoro  y 
esplendor  qe  corresponde.  El  Sor  Harbey  [Hervey]  saldrd  de  aqui  para  esa  corte 
dentro  de  6  &  8  dias.” 

2  British  and  Foreign  State  Papers,  vol.  12,  pp.  984,  985.  Some  light  is  cast  on 
Alamdn’s  notion  of  the  relative  value  to  Mexico  of  the  friendship  of  England  and 
of  the  United  States  by  noticing  the  attention  which  he  gives  to  each  in  this  report. 
Not  more  than  half  as  much  space  is  devoted  to  the  latter  as  to  the  former ;  and 
there  is  a  marked  difference  in  the  enthusiasm.  Just  following  the  statement  concern¬ 
ing  England’s  declaration  against  the  interference  of  any  power  or  league  of  powers 
to  assist  Spain  against  her  colonies,  he  says:  “The  determination  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent  of  the  United  States  of  America,  announced  in  his  message  to  the  last  Congress, 
was  of  a  similar  character.”  And  further  on  he  says:  “The  friendship  that  has 
subsisted  with  the  United  States  of  America,  since  the  declaration  of  independence, 
has  not  been  interrupted.  That  government  has  appointed  a  minister  plenipo¬ 
tentiary  to  reside  near  this  republic ;  and  the  delay  of  his  arrival  has  had  no  con¬ 
nection  with  [effect  upon?]  the  friendly  relations  that  unite  the  two  states.  Don 
Pablo  Obregon  has  been  sent  by  this  republic  to  that  government  with  a  similar 
rank,  and,  according  to  official  communication,  he  has  been  received  and  recog¬ 
nized  by  the  President  at  Washington.” 


340 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


attitude  hitherto  maintained  by  the  British  commissioners,  this 
treaty  included  provisions  decidedly  favorable  to  Mexico.  Speak¬ 
ing  of  the  privileges  therein  provided  for  Mexican  shipping  inter¬ 
ests,  the  Mexican  foreign  office  declared  to  its  agent  in  London 
that  a  thousand  advantages  had  been  gained.1  It  was  so  favor¬ 
able  to  Mexico,  indeed,  and  so  at  variance  with  the  practices  of 
England  that  it  could  not  be  accepted.  “  It  is  not  to  be  expected,” 
wrote  Canning  with  exasperation  as  he  rejected  the  whole  treaty 
and  ordered  the  negotiation  of  a  new  one,  “  that  we  will  abandon 
‘for  the  sake  of  this  new  connexion,  principles  which  we  never 
have  conceded,  in  our  intercourse  with  other  states,  whether  of  the 
old  world  or  the  new,  either  to  considerations  of  friendship,  or  to 
menaces  of  hostility.’”  2  It  was  late  in  the  year  before  news  of 
Canning’s  rejection  of  the  treaty  reached  Mexico. 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  during  the  first  few  months  of  Poinsett’s 
stay  in  Mexico  the  popularity  of  England  in  that  country  was  at 
the  flood  tide,  and  Mexican  gratitude  for  England’s  friendship 
was  unbounded.  It  is  not  at  all  strange  that  President  Victoria 
should  have  valued  England’s  friendship  more  highly  than  that 
of  the  United  States,  or  that  his  address  on  the  occasion  of  the 
formal  reception  of  the  British  charge  should  have  been  more 
enthusiastic  than  his  reply  to  Poinsett’s  speech  on  the  following 
day.  This  would  have  been  but  natural  even  if  the  United 
States  had  been  officially  represented  at  the  Mexican  capital  as 
early  and  as  continuously  as  England  had  been. 

Not  only  was  British  influence  in  Mexico  actually  dominant 


1  [Secretario]  to  Rocafuerte,  7  de  junio  de  1825,  Ms.,  Relaciones  Exteriores. 
The  statement  is  as  follows  :  “un  articulo  espreso  del  tratado,  en  el  que  se  lograron 
mil  ventajas  que  probablemente  no  hubieran  podido  conseguirse  por  una  declara- 
cion  espontanea  de  esa  Gob0.” 

For  the  text  of  the  treaty  both  in  Spanish  and  English,  see  Mexico ,  Tratados  y 
Convenciones,  vol.  2,  pp.  307-321.  For  brief  comments  on  it,  see  Bocanegra,  Memo- 
rias,  vol.  1,  p.  377 ;  Alam&n,  Historia  de  Mejico,  vol.  5,  p.  815 ;  Zamacois,  Historia 
de  Mejico ,  vol.  11,  p.  608;  Zavala,  Ensayo  Histdrico,  vol.  1,  pp.  321-330;  Ban¬ 
croft,  History  of  Mexico,  vol.  5,  p.  51. 

In  spite  of  the  recommendation  to  Congress  that  the  treaty  should  be  kept 
secret  it  had  been  published.  The  responsibility  for  its  publication,  it  was  said, 
could  not  be  located.  Rocafuerte  in  London  was  notified  of  this  so  that  he  might 
be  able  to  explain  to  the  English  government  that  the  publication  could  not  be 
prevented.  Secretario  to  Rocafuerte,  25  de  mayo  de  1825,  Ms.,  Relaciones  Ex¬ 
teriores.  It  was  later  charged  that  the  writer  of  this  letter,  Alam&n,  the  negotiator 
of  the  treaty,  was  himself  responsible  for  the  publication.  If  so,  this  letter  was 
intended  merely  for  a  blind. 

2  Paxson,  Independence  of  the  Spanish  American  Republics,  p.  220,  quoting  from 
Canning  to  Ward,  September  9,  1825,  and  citing  Foreign  Office  manuscripts. 


BRITISH  INFLUENCE  IN  MEXICO 


341 


when  Poinsett  arrived,  but  Canning  was  consciously  and  inten¬ 
tionally  exerting  it  to  counteract  that  of  the  United  States.  A 
memorandum  which  was  considered  by  a  cabinet  meeting  in 
December,  1824,  and  which  seems  to  have  been  inspired  by  Can¬ 
ning,  makes  this  certain  (if  the  document  can  be  accepted  as 
genuine,  which  seems  probable).  This  date,  it  will  be  noticed, 
was  only  a  few  days  before  the  policy  of  British  recognition  was 
announced.  Speaking  of  two  motives  for  recognizing  Mexico  and 
Colombia,  of  which  one  was  the  investment  there  of  English 
capital,  the  memorandum  continues:  “The  other  and  perhaps 
still  more  powerful  motive  is  my  apprehension  of  the  ambition  and 
the  ascendancy  of  the  U[nited]  S[tates]  of  Am[erica] :  It  is  ob¬ 
viously  the  policy  of  that  Gov[ernmen]t  to  connect  itself  with  all 
the  powers  of  America  in  a  general  Transatlantic  League,  of  which 
it  would  have  the  sole  direction.  I  need  only  say  how  incon¬ 
venient  such  an  ascendancy  may  be  in  time  of  peace,  and  how 
formidable  in  case  of  war. 

“  I  believe  we  now  have  the  opportunity  (but  it  may  not  last 
long)  of  opposing  a  powerful  barrier  to  the  influence  of  the  U[nited] 
S[tates]  by  an  amicable  connection  with  Mexico,  which  from  its 
position  must  be  either  subservient  to  or  jealous  of  the  Ufnited] 
S[tates].  In  point  of  population  and  resources  it  is  at  least  equal 
to  all  the  rest  of  the  Spanish  colonies ;  and  may  naturally  expect 
to  take  the  lead  in  its  connections  with  the  powers  of  Europe.  I 
by  no  means  think  it  at  present  necessary  to  go  beyond  the  rela¬ 
tions  of  amity  and  commercial  intercourse ;  but  if  we  hesitate 
much  longer,  and  especially  if  our  commercial  treaty  [July  23, 
1824]  with  Buenos  Ayres  should  not  take  effect,  all  the  new  states 
will  be  led  to  conclude  that  we  regret  their  friendship  upon  prin¬ 
ciple,  as  of  a  dangerous  and  revolutionary  character,  and  will  be 
driven  to  throw  themselves  under  the  protection  of  the  Ufnited] 
S[tates],  as  the  only  means  of  security.”  1 

1  Temperley,  “Later  American  Policy  of  George  Canning,”  in  American  Historical 
Review,  vol.  11,  p.  781,  citing  British  Museum  manuscripts.  He  says  of  this,  on 
page  780,  “It  is  the  memorandum  ‘which  enabled  us  to  carry  Colombia  too  [as 
well  as  Mexico]  at  the  Cabinet,’”  and  cities  Canning  to  Granville;  December  17, 
1824. 

Temperley  explains,  page  779,  “The  object  of  the  present  article  is  to  show 
that  the  later  American  policy  of  George  Canning  was  intended  to  defeat  certain 
claims  and  pretensions  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine.  These  were  the  principles  which 
forbade  future  colonization  in  America  to  European  powers,  and  the  principle 
which  tended  to  make  America  a  separate  world  from  Europe.” 


342 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


After  the  policy  of  recognition  had  been  announced  and  the 
instructions  for  negotiating  the  treaties  had  been  despatched, 
Canning  declared  in  a  letter  of  January  8,  1825,  “The  thing  is 
done.  .  .  .  The  Yankees  will  shout  in  triumph;  but  it  is  they 
who  lose  most  by  our  decision.  The  great  danger  of  the  time  — 
a  danger  which  the  policy  of  the  European  system  would  have 
fostered,  was  a  division  of  the  World  into  European  and  American, 
Republican  and  Monarchical ;  a  league  of  worn-out  Gov[ernmen]ts, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  of  youthful  and  stirring  nations,  with  the 
U[nited]  States  at  their  head,  on  the  other.  We  slip  in  between ; 
and  plant  ourselves  in  Mexico.  The  Un[ited]  States  have  gotten 
the  start  of  us  in  vain ;  and  we  link  once  more  America  to 
Europe.  Six  months  more  —  and  the  mischief  would  have 
been  done.”  1 

Canning’s  opposition  to  the  United  States  was  shown  not  only 
in  his  Mexican  policy,  but  also  in  his  dealings  with  the  assembled 
representatives  of  the  American  states  at  Panama  in  1826.  In 
instructing  the  representative  whom  England  had  been  invited 
to  send  to  that  congress.  Canning  said  :  “You  will  understand  that 
to  a  league  among  the  states,  lately  colonies  of  Spain,  limited  to 
objects  growing  out  of  their  common  relations  to  Spain,  H[is] 
M[ajesty’s]  Gov[ernmen]t  would  not  object.  But  any  project 
for  putting  the  U[nited]  S[tates]  of  North  America  at  the  head  of 
an  American  Confederacy,  as  against  Europe,  would  be  highly 
displeasing  to  your  Gov[ernmen]t.  It  would  be  felt  as  an  ill 
return  for  the  service  which  has  been  rendered  to  those  states, 
and  the  dangers  which  have  been  averted  from  them,  by  the 
countenance  and  friendship,  and  public  declarations  of  Great 
Britain ;  and  it  would  too,  probably  at  no  very  distant  period, 
endanger  the  peace  both  of  America  and  Europe.”  2 

Although  Poinsett  could  not  have  known  in  1825  exactly  what 
England’s  policy  was,  nor  the  steps  whereby  she  had  gained  a 
dominant  influence  in  Mexico,  yet  he  saw  that  the  influence 
existed  and  felt  that  it  was  inimical  to  the  United  States.  He 
believed  that  it  was  even  more  inimical  to  the  interests  of  Mexico 
and  of  all  free  governments  in  America. 

1  Temperley,  in  American  Historical  Review,  vol.  11,  p.  781,  note,  citing  two  places 
where  the  letter  was  already  printed. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  787,  citing  Public  Record  Office  manuscripts. 


BRITISH  INFLUENCE  IN  MEXICO 


343 


In  Poinsett’s  mind  he  early  divided  all  Mexicans  into  two 
classes,  those  friendly  to  the  American  system  championed  by 
the  United  States,  and  those  friendly  to  the  European  system 
championed  by  England.  In  a  cipher  paragraph  of  a  letter  to 
Clay  of  August  5,  1825,  he  said  that  the  president  of  Mexico  was 
a  weak  man  and  was  controlled  by  his  ministers,  especially  the 
secretary  of  state  and  secretary  of  the  treasury.  The  former 
(Alaman),  he  declared,  was  a  man  of  good  natural  talents  and 
better  educated  than  is  common  among  men  of  his  class  in  Mexico. 
He  was  director  of  an  English  mining  company  and  consequently 
favored  British  interests.  The  latter  (Esteva),  he  added,  was  a 
man  of  tolerable  ability  but  without  education.  He  was  attached 
to  England  because  English  men  of  means  loaned  the  government 
money  to  help  him  out  of  his  official  difficulties.  From  this, 
English  influence  had  profited  enormously.  These  opinions,  he 
said,  were  not  the  result  of  the  treatment  he  had  received,  for  that 
had  been  only  the  most  friendly.  On  the  other  hand,  he  added : 
“  There  is  an  American  party  in  the  House  of  Representatives  and 
in  the  Senate,  in  point  of  talents  much  the  strongest;  but  the 
government  have  an  ascendency  over  both  bodies.”  1 

On  September  24,  1825,  Clay  replied  to  Poinsett’s  despatch  of 
June  4,  that  the  prevalence  of  British  influence  in  Mexico  was  to 
be  regretted ;  but  that  it  could  hardly  be  made  the  subject  of 
formal  complaint  if  it  were  merely  the  effect  of  British  power  and 
British  capital  fairly  exerted,  and  if  not  rewarded  by  favors  to 
British  commerce  or  British  subjects  to  the  prejudice  of  Americans. 
But,  he  added,  against  any  partiality  or  preference  to  any  foreign 
nation  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  United  States  Poinsett  was  to 
remonstrate.2 

Before  this  cautious  advice  could  reach  Mexico  a  sort  of  “palace 
revolution”  had  occurred.  The  strongest  British  sympathizers 
had  left  the  cabinet  and  the  members  who  remained,  as  well  as 
President  Victoria,  were  entirely  favorable  to  the  United  States. 
Poinsett  was  in  high  favor. 

1  Poinsett  to  Clay,  August  5,  1825,  Ms.,  Department  of  State,  Despatches 
from  Mexico,  vol.  1.  The  brief  paragraph  quoted  above  telling  of  the  American 
party  appears  in  the  copy  of  the  letter  in  the  volume  of  Duplicate  Despatches 
from  Poinsett  but  not  in  the  regular  volume. 

1  Clay  to  Poinsett,  September  24,  1825,  Ms.,  Department  of  State,  Instruc¬ 
tions,  vol.  10,  p.  225. 


344 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


In  his  long  cipher  despatch  to  Clay,  Poinsett  practically  claimed 
to  have  brought  about  this  change  in  the  government  through 
the  group  of  men  which  he  alluded  to  as  an  American  party.1 
Its  purpose  was  to  resist  the  centralizing  tendency  and  preserve 
and  perpetuate  the  federal  form  of  government,  to  which  Poin¬ 
sett  was  so  strongly  attached  and  v'hich  he  believed  was  the  only 
hope  for  preserving  free  government  in  Mexico.  Four  years  later 
in  referring  to  his  part  in  effecting  this  peaceable  political  revolu¬ 
tion,  Poinsett  explained  that  the  cordiality  of  the  democratic 
party,  his  own  principles,  and  the  hostility  of  the  aristocratic 
party  all  tended  to  cause  him  to  seek  his  associates  among  the 
popular  party.  He  believed  that  England  was  making  efforts  to 
obtain  a  dominant  influence  in  Mexico  as  she  had  in  Portugal. 
He  believed  too  that  this  would  be  detrimental  to  the  interests 
of  the  United  States.  Learning  that  the  democratic  party  in¬ 
tended  to  effect  a  revolution  by  force  to  get  control,  he  advised  them 
to  use  the  more  moderate  measures  of  organization,  use  of  the 
franchise,  and  establishment  of  their  own  press.  They  took  his 
advice  and  were  eminently  successful.2 

Poinsett  declared  that  he  would  have  kept  aloof  from  such  men, 
but  he  had  found  it  necessary  to  form  a  party  out  of  such  elements 
as  the  counfry  afforded,  or  leave  the  English  complete  masters  of 
the  field.  The  friends  of  the  latter  country  were  alarmed,  he  said, 
and  could  not  conceal  their  mortification  or  fears.  Ward,  he 
continued,  had  sent  a  messenger  to  Canning  with  most  exag¬ 
gerated  accounts  of  Poinett’s  influence.  The  latter  added, 
“His  want  of  tact  and  overwrought  exertions  may  contribute  to 
establish  that  influence  he  so  much  dreads.” 

The  displacement  of  English  sympathizers  in  the  Mexican 
ministry  by  what  Poinsett  called  an  American  party  had  nothing 
to  do  with  England’s  rejection  of  the  Mexican  treaty.  The 
conferences  at  which  Canning  declared  the  treaty  inadmissible 
occurred  late  in  July  of  1825 ;  and  the  change  in  the  Mexican 
ministry  did  not  take  place  until  late  in  September.  It  is  prob¬ 
able  that  news  of  the  rejection  of  the  treaty  reached  Mexico  about 

1  Poinsett  to  Clay,  October  12,  1825,  all  in  cipher,  covering  twelve  pages,  Ms., 
Department  of  State,  Despatches  from  Mexico,  vol.  1. 

s  Poinsett  to  Secretary  of  State,  March  10,  1829,  Ms.,  Department  of  State, 
Despatches  from  Mexico,  vol.  4. 


BRITISH  INFLUENCE  IN  MEXICO 


345 


the  time  of  the  cabinet  upheaval ;  but  this  is  not  certain.1  If  it 
did,  it  doubtless  had  much  to  do  with  the  sudden  change  from 
sympathy  with  England  to  sympathy  with  United  States. 

The  messengers  from  Mexico  bearing  the  treaty  had  reached 
London  July  16.  On  July  27  at  a  conference  which  Rocafuerte 
had  with  Canning  and  two  other  British  officials  the  treaty  was 
discussed  at  length.  At  the  close  of  the  conference  Canning  de¬ 
clared  that  the  seventh  and  eighth  articles  would  have  to  be  radi¬ 
cally  changed,  or  the  treaty  would  have  to  be  rejected.  Roca¬ 
fuerte  did  not  have  sufficient  authority  to  make  the  necessary 
changes.  The  seventh  provided  that  a  ship  should  be  considered 
Mexican  if  two  thirds  of  its  crew  had  been  admitted  into  the 
service  with  the  knowledge  of  the  government.  There  was  no 
requirement  concerning  citizenship.  Article  eight  embodied  the 
“flag  shall  cover  the  goods”  principle  which  England  had  never 
admitted  in  her  relations  with  any  nation.  Canning  declared 
that,  in  case  of  war  between  England  and  the  United  States  (or 
any  other  power),  by  combining  the  privileges  conceded  to  Mexico 
in  the  two  articles  in  question,  all  enemy  property  could  be  carried 
in  what  were  really  enemy  ships  but  which  had  been  transformed 
in  a  night  into  Mexican  ships.  This  he  declared  would  be  too 
great  an  advantage  for  England’s  enemies.  A  clause  stipulating 
that  merchant  vessels  of  either  nation  should  under  no  circum¬ 
stances  be  embargoed  in  ports  of  the  other,  without  the  payment 
of  full  indemnity,  was  also  strenuously  resisted.2 

Morier,  who  with  Ward  had  negotiated  the  treaty  that  was 
rejected,  was  sent  back  to  Mexico  with  strict  instructions  to  nego¬ 
tiate  a  new  treaty  which  should  not  contain  the  objectionable 


1  Rocafuerte  to  Secretario,  21  de  julio  de  1825,  announcing  the  arrival  at  Lon¬ 
don  of  the  messengers  with  the  treaty  bears  a  marginal  note  indicating  that  a  reply 
to  it  was  sent  29  de  septiembre.  There  is  nothing  to  indicate  now  long  it  had  been 
in  the  office  before  the  reply  was  sent.  Neither  is  there  anything  to  indicate  the 
date  of  the  receipt  at  Mexico  of  Rocafuerte  to  Secretario,  2  de  agosto  de  1825,  tell¬ 
ing  of  the  rejection  of  the  treaty.  But  it  was  probably  late  in  September  or  early  in 
October.  Mss.,  Relaciones  Exteriores. 

Alam&n’s  resignation  was  accepted  on  September  27.  The  reorganization  of 
the  cabinet  in  favor  of  the  American  party  took  place  between  this  and  October 
12,  the  date  of  Poinsett’s  long  cipher  despatch  telling  about  it.  Mss.,  Relaciones 
Exteriores. 

J  “  Memorandum  de  una  conferencia  tenida  en  Londres  el  27  de  julio  de  1825  entre 
los  senores  Ministros  el  Honorable  Sor  Jorge  Canning,  Ministro  de  Relaciones,  el 
Sefior  Planta  ler  secretario  del  Ministro  de  Relaciones,  el  Huskisson,  Ministro  de 
la  camara  de  comercio  ;  y  Don  Vicente  Rocafuerte.”  Ms.,  Relaciones  Exteriores. 


346 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


clauses.  He  reached  Mexico  about  the  end  of  the  year,  1825.1 
Until  about  the  middle  of  December  Poinsett  seems  not  to  have 
learned  of  the  rejection  of  the  treaty  in  England.2 

Neither  England’s  rejection  of  the  treaty  nor  the  Mexican 
cabinet  upheaval  changed  entirely  the  feeling  of  gratitude  to  Eng¬ 
land  for  the  stand  which  that  power  had  taken  in  supporting  the 
interests  of  Mexico  (and  other  new  Spanish  American  States) 
against  the  projects  of  Spain  and  the  other  reactionary  European 
powers.  On  the  first  of  January,  1826,  President  Victoria,  in  his 
speech  at  the  opening  of  Congress,  declared  that  the  month  of 
January  of  the  year  just  closed  was  worthy  of  eternal  commemora¬ 
tion  because  it  was  then  that  Great  Britain  had  announced  to  the 
powers  her  intentions  to  recognize  and  enter  into  relations  with 
the  new  American  states,  and  thereby  defeated  the  designs  of 
the  continental  powers.  He  said :  “  Thus  has  been  revealed 
the  secret  of  their  ulterior  intentions,  and  they  have  been  forced 
to  confess  that  they  renounced  for  the  future  all  armed  interven¬ 
tion  in  subjects  relating  to  the  insurgent  Americans.”  He  dwelt 
on  the  value  to  Mexico  of  this  generous  act  of  Great  Britain, 
which  was  the  more  flattering  because  it  met  with  the  general 
approbation  of  the  English  nation.  He  then  mentioned  the  ex¬ 
change  of  diplomatic  agents  between  Mexico  and  England  and 
the  arrival,  two  weeks  earlier,  of  Morier  who  came  to  revise  the 
treaty.3 

But  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  Poinsett,  Victoria,  after  finish¬ 
ing  his  review  of  relations  with  European  governments,  continued  : 
“  With  respect  to  the  nations  of  the  happy  hemisphere  of  Columbus, 
justice,  and  gratitude  compel  us  to  mention,  before  all  others,  the 
most  ancient  state  of  America,  and  the  first  of  the  civilized  world 
which  solemnly  proclaimed  our  rights,  after  having  preceded  us  in 
the  heroic  resolution  of  shaking  off  a  dependence  on  the  mother 

1  Poinsett  to  Clay,  January  4,  1826,  Ms.,  Department  of  State,  Despatches 
from  Mexico,  vol.  1. 

1  Poinsett  to  Clay,  December  16,  1825,  Ms.,  Department  of  State,  Despatches 
from  Mexico,  vol.  1. 

3  Victoria’s  message  to  Congress,  January  1,  1825,  enclosed  with  Poinsett  to 
Clay,  January  4,  1826,  cited  in  note  1,  above;  also  British  and  Foreign  State 
Papers,  vol.  13,  p.  1067.  Ibid.,  1104  is  a  memorial  of  the  Secretario  de  Relaciones 
to  the  Congress,  sometime  in  the  month  of  January.  It  gives  a  brief  account  of 
relations  with  England  during  1825.  The  same  was  enclosed  with  Poinsett  to 
Clay,  February  18,  1826,  Ms.,  Department  of  State,  Despatches  from  Mexico, 
vol.  i. 


BRITISH  INFLUENCE  IN  MEXICO 


347 


country.  The  United  States  of  the  North,  models  of  political 
virtue  and  moral  rectitude,  have  advanced  under  the  system  of 
a  federative  republic,  which,  having  been  adopted  amongst  us, 
by  the  most  spontaneous  act  on  record,  exalts  us  to  a  level  with 
the  country  of  Washington,  and  establishes  the  most  intimate 
union  between  the  neighboring  countries.  A  plenipotentiary  from 
that  nation  accredited  to  our  government  is  commissioned  to 
conclude  treaties  which,  without  delay,  shall  be  laid  before  your 
chambers.  The  most  urgent  point  is  the  definitive  regulation  of 
the  limits  between  the  two  nations ;  and  the  government  is  pre¬ 
paring  surveys  which  will  facilitate  the  conclusion  of  the  negotia¬ 
tion  on  the  unalterable  bases  of  liberality  and  good  faith.”  1  This 
virtually  announced  the  supremacy  of  the  influence  favorable  to 
the  United  States  and  also  the  government’s  change  from  the 
centralist  to  the  federalist  party.  Had  Poinsett  dictated  this 
portion  of  the  message,  as  he  might  have  done  if  he  had  wielded 
the  influence  which  his  enemies  and  those  of  the  government 
suspected,  he  could  hardly  have  worded  it  in  more  flattering  terms. 
He  could  not  now  complain,  as  he  had  done  seven  months  earlier, 
that  Victoria’s  allusions  to  England  were  more  enthusiastic  than 
to  the  United  States. 

The  new  negotiations  for  the  treaty  with  England  were  conducted 
in  profound  secrecy,  even  the  clerks  of  the  foreign  office  not  being 
permitted  to  copy  or  translate  the  protocols.  The  negotiations 
had  not  gone  very  far,  however,  till  it  became  evident  that  no 
treaty  could  be  made  in  keeping  with  the  strict  instructions 
which  Morier  bore.  Consequently  in  March  of  1826,  he  abandoned 
the  attempt  and  returned  to  London,  having  insisted  that  one  of 
the  secretaries  of  the  Mexican  cabinet  accompany  or  follow  him 
with  full  power  to  conclude  a  treaty  in  London.2 

Camacho,  the  secretary  for  foreign  relations,  was  chosen. 
Poinsett  wrote  to  Clay  that  the  Mexican  Senate  did  not  want  a 
secretary  to  go  out  of  the  country,  and  at  first  refused  to  ratify 
the  appointment.  But,  he  said,  the  British  charge  declared  that 
no  one  but  a  secretary  would  be  acceptable,  and  that  by  refusing 


1  British  and  Foreign  State  Papers,  vol.  13,  p.  1069. 

2  Poinsett  to  Clay,  February  1,  1826,  Ms.,  Department  of  State,  Despatches 
from  Mexico,  vol.  l.j 


348 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


to  ratify  the  nomination  of  Camacho,  the  Senate  would  occasion 
a  rupture  between  the  two  powers  —  conduct  which  could  only 
be  imputed  to  the  secret  influence  of  those  who  sought  to  divide  the 
old  world  from  the  new,  in  order  that  they  might  govern  the 
latter;  meaning  of  course  the  United  States.”  Camacho’s  ap¬ 
pointment  was  finally  ratified.1  He  went  to  London ;  and  just 
before  the  end  of  the  year  1826  a  treaty  was  concluded  which 
omitted  the  provisions  objectionable  to  England.  In  the  middle  of 
1827  the  ratifications  were  exchanged.  The  treaty  was  submitted 
to  Congress  and  proclaimed  to  the  nation  on  October  25,  1827. 


1  Poinsett  to  Clay,  April  8,  1826,  Ms.,  Department  of  State,  Despatches  from 
Mexico,  vol.  1.  For  brief  reviews  of  Camacho’s  mission  and  the  treaty  which  he 
negotiated,  see  Zavala,  Ensayo  Hist6rico,  vol.  1,  p.  360;  Zamacois,  Historia  de 
Mejico,  vol.  11,  p.  156;  Bancroft,  History  of  Mexico,  vol.  5,  p.  51. 

1  For  the  treaty  both  in  English  and  Spanish,  see  British  and  Foreign  State 
Papers,  vol.  14,  pp.  614-629.  For  the  submission  to  Congress  and  proclamation, 
see  Coleccidn  de  Ordenes  y  Decretos  de  la  Soberana  Junta  y  las  Congresas,  vol.  4,  p.  87. 


THE  REFORMS  OF  JOSE  DE  GALVEZ  IN  NEW  SPAIN 


Herbert  I.  Priestley 

Charles  III  of  Spain,  moved  by  dissatisfaction  at  the  result 
of  the  Seven  Years’  War,  needing  money  for  prospective  renewal 
of  strife  with  England,  and  desirous  of  financing  broad  plans  of 
reform  for  all  his  empire,  sent  to  New  Spain  in  1765  its  greatest 
and  last  visitor-general  of  real  hacienda  —  the  department  of 
public  finance  —  Jose  de  Galvez.  This  man  had  risen  from  the 
obscurity  of  a  shepherd  boy  to  influence  at  court  through  the  ad¬ 
vantages  of  a  legal  education,  a  fortunate  French  marriage,  and  a 
secretaryship  under  Grimaldi,  minister  of  state.  Though  Galvez 
was  third  choice  for  the  visitorial  commission,  he  was  able,  by 
virtue  of  aggressive  character  and  court  influence,  to  put  so  effec¬ 
tive  a  check  upon  official  corruption  and  commerical  rapacity  in 
New  Spain  that  he  has  been  called  the  re-creator  of  the  depart¬ 
ment  of  public  finance.  Much  of  this  success  was  attained  while 
Galvez  was,  after  returning  from  America,  minister  general  of  the 
Indies.  The  basis  of  success  was  laid  during  a  six-year  visitation, 
and  it  is  to  the  activities  of  this  period  that  present  attention  is 
chiefly  directed. 

Visitorial  instructions  were  given  to  Galvez  by  Julian  Arriaga, 
minister  of  the  Indies,  which  explain  the  character  and  purpose 
of  the  general  visitation,  and  display  in  detail  the  colonial  policy 
of  Charles  III.  A  resume  of  these  instructions  is  essential  to  an 
understanding  of  the  activities  of  Galvez  in  New  Spain. 

The  prologue  announces  that  the  object  of  the  visitation  is  to 
bring  about  increased  revenues  without  imposing  new  taxes  or 
altering  established  practice,  to  prevent  abuses  and  eliminate 
superfluous  expense  in  administering  public  finance.  All  public 
accounts  were  to  be  examined,  and  the  actual  funds  located. 
Arrears  due  from  customs  farmers  were  to  be  demanded  without 

349 


350 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


delay,  and  regulations  to  improve  service  for  the  future  were  to 
be  drawn  up  and  enforced.  Full  power  to  do  these  things  was 
granted,  the  viceroy  of  the  colony  being  enjoined  to  work  har¬ 
moniously  with  the  visitor  to  obtain  the  desired  ends. 

The  first  five  articles  concern  the  visitation  of  Vera  Cruz,  which 
was  the  “throat”  of  New  Spain’s  European  trade.  Arriving 
there,  Galvez  was  to  announce  to  the  viceroy  in  Mexico  his  ar¬ 
rival.  That  officer  was  thereupon  to  “publish  the  visitation,” 
that  is,  notify  all  officials  concerned  that  they  were  to  assist  the 
visitor  with  all  records  and  information  needed,  and  place  them¬ 
selves  at  his  service.  As  to  actual  inspection  of  commerce,  there 
was  a  distinction  in  method  to  be  observed.  Cargoes  of  single 
vessels  were  dutiable  at  Vera  Cruz,  while  flota  cargoes  were  sent 
free  of  duty  to  Jalapa  for  the  fair.  In  the  first  case,  the  gen¬ 
eral  method  of  receiving  the  freight  and  collecting  duties  was 
to  be  investigated  to  see  whether  it  effectively  prevented  smug¬ 
gling.  If  not,  means  to  that  end  were  to  be  adopted.  Suggested 
precautions  were  the  branding  of  all  goods,  so  that  any  unbranded 
might  be  seized  as  contraband ;  all  inland  shipments  were  to 
be  accompanied  by  itemized  vouchers,  which  were  to  be  returned 
to  the  customs  officers  after  delivery  of  goods.  Customs  guards 
were  to  be  added  if  needed  to  prevent  smuggling,  and  the  prac¬ 
tices  of  the  officers  in  charge  of  the  port  were  to  be  made  to  adhere 
rigorously  to  the  legal  requirements.  Importations  on  the  flota 
were  to  be  checked  up  by  the  Cadiz  bill  of  lading,  and  any  excess 
over  size  and  kind  of  shipments  manifested  by  that  instrument 
was  to  be  confiscated.  The  visitor  was  to  follow  in  person  the 
flota  freight  to  Jalapa.  There  he  was  to  prevent  evasion  of 
duties  during  the  fair,  and  to  see  that  goods  remaining  at  its  close 
should  be  secured  against  clandestine  removal  without  payment 
of  duties.  Any  changes  in  existing  procedure,  necessary  to  pro¬ 
tect  the  government’s  receipts,  were  to  be  suggested  to  the  vice¬ 
roy,  upon  whom  devolved  the  duty  of  issuing  appropriate  orders. 

Articles  6-28  inclusive  deal  with  revenue  conditions  and  reg¬ 
ulations  in  the  specific  branches  of  public  revenues  throughout  the 
viceroyalty.  In  brief,  some  forty  sources  of  royal  revenue,  dis¬ 
regarding  church  and  municipal  taxes,  and  other  special  funds 
numbering  also  about  forty,  existed  in  New  Spain.  Chief  among 


THE  REFORMS  OF  JOSfi  DE  GALVEZ  IN  NEW  SPAIN  351 


the  royal  revenues  were  the  mining,  quicksilver,  and  coinage 
duties,  the  tribute,  salt  tax,  playing  card  tax,  the  almojarifazgo, 
and  the  alcabala,  or  sales  tax.  Government  collected  revenue  upon 
sales  of  non-judicial  offices,  dispensations,  and  legal  blank  paper. 
Office  holders,  the  clergy,  and  the  nobility  paid  annual  dues  for 
their  distinctions.  At  the  seaports  the  armada  and  arena,  muralla 
and  portazgo  or  almirantazgo ,  were  collected,  besides  many  fees  for 
anchorage,  lights,  registration,  and  clearance  papers.  At  every 
turn,  grocers,  butchers,  farmers,  merchants,  indeed,  all  classes,  were 
made  sources  of  royal  income,  and  when  these  sources  did  not  suffice, 
frequent  recourse  was  had  to  voluntary  or  forced  loans  or  gifts. 

The  methods  employed  in  collection  of  these  duties  were  es¬ 
pecially  irksome.  The  alcabala  alone,  a  tax  on  every  article  sold, 
even  until  its  extinction,  was  a  levy  upon  commerce  which,  if  it 
had  been  collected  according  to  the  letter  of  the  law,  would  have 
actually  paralyzed  commerce.  Three  modes  of  collecting  revenue 
were  in  vogue :  by  revenue  farmers,  by  districts  and  towns,  and 
by  oficiales  reales,  or  treasury  officials.  Neither  plan  was  ever 
universal  or  uniform.  Each  had  its  peculiar  advantages  and  dis¬ 
advantages.  Large  and  certain  revenues  were  most  economically 
collected  by  crown  officers.  But  these  men  grew  important  and 
domineering,  and  the  king’s  vassals  were  oppressed.  Uncertain 
revenues,  in  sparsely  settled  districts,  were  oftenest  farmed  out. 
Here,  future  prosperity  was  subordinated  to  the  contractor’s 
greed,  though  the  crown  was  assured  its  revenues  in  advance. 
District  or  municipal  collection  engaged  local  officials  in  interests 
identical  with  those  of  the  central  government,  but  placing  large 
sums  in  municipal  treasuries  led  to  frequent  malversation. 

In  all  cases  practicable,  Galvez  was  instructed  to  put  the  rev¬ 
enues  under  administration.  Elsewhere,  contracts  were  to  be 
investigated,  and  their  considerations  raised  whenever  possible, 
as  at  renewal.  The  official  force  of  real  hacienda  was  to  be  in¬ 
spected,  and  superfluous  employees  were  to  be  eliminated.  Pec¬ 
ulation  or  fraud  was  to  be  rigorously  punished,  after  the  usual 
secret  investigation.  Final  decision  of  cases  brought  by  the  visi¬ 
tor  for  malfeasance  was  reserved  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies. 

Articles  28-30  concern  details  as  to  assistants,  mode  of  judicial 
procedure,  and  suggestions  as  to  regulation  of  municipal  finance. 


352 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Article  31,  really  epochal  in  import,  tentatively  recommends  in¬ 
vestigation  of  the  utility  of  establishing  in  New  Spain  “one  or 
more  intendancies”  similar  to  those  of  the  Peninsula.  Article 
32  enjoins  harmony  with  the  viceroy,  and  Article  33  commands 
that  essential  changes  in  administration  of  real  hacienda  shall  be 
referred  to  the  king  for  decision. 

In  addition  to  these  instructions,  later  letters  from  Esquilache 
and  Arriaga  authorized  Galvez  to  serve  on  the  junta  then  work¬ 
ing  to  establish  the  tobacco  monopoly,  and  to  study  effective 
means  of  colonizing  on  farm  lands  of  the  frontier  the  idle  and 
vicious  inhabitants  of  the  large  cities  of  the  viceroyalty. 

The  Council  of  the  Indies  also  gave  instructions  to  Galvez  to 
visit  all  courts  of  justice  in  New  Spain,  but  the  king  commanded 
him  to  pay  especial  attention  to  affairs  of  real  hacienda;  hence, 
justice,  abstract  or  concrete,  received  but  slight  attention  during 
the  visitation.  Indeed,  litigation,  already  excessive,  tedious,  and 
burdensome,  was  greatly  increased,  rather  than  diminished,  by 
Galvez’s  visitation. 

Under  the  general  legal  provisions  for  such  inspections,  it  was 
within  the  visitor’s  power  and  discretion  to  suspend  any  crown 
officer  in  the  realm  —  appointment  of  new  officers  being  depend¬ 
ent  on  the  viceroy  and  the  king.  Procedure  in  the  affairs 
of  finance  might  be  altered  temporarily  at  discretion  in  accord 
with  the  viceroy,  and  permanently  with  royal  approval.  Any 
effort  at  impeding  the  visitation  on  the  part  of  colonial  officers  or 
citizens  might  be  punished  by  removal  of  the  offender  from  the 
viceroyalty.  Testimony  against  officers  was  taken  in  secret,  the 
names  of  witnesses  were  withheld  from  the  accused,  and  only 
categorical  charges  were  lodged.  Hence  defense  directed  to  the 
point  at  issue  might  be  altogether  lacking.  Suspension  or  re¬ 
moval  meant  loss  of  salary  or  of  the  purchase  price  of  employment 
in  offices  which  were  salable.  It  was  within  the  power  of  the 
visitor  to  involve  in  utter  ruin  lower  officials,  and  to  embarrass 
exceedingly  higher  ones.  Checks  upon  his  action  lay  in  the  reser¬ 
vation  of  final  judgment  in  suits  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies; 
administrative  reform  depended  upon  the  good  will  of  the  vice¬ 
roy  for  enforcement.  And  yet  that  officer,  as  superintendent  of 
real  hacienda  and  as  president  of  the  audiencia,  was  himself  liable 


THE  REFORMS  OF  JOSE  DE  GALVEZ  IN  NEW  SPAIN  353 


to  the  processes  of  the  visitation.  Over  his  head,  too,  hung  the 
prospect  of  the  residencia,  —  official  investigation  of  his  conduct 
as  viceroy  and  captain-general,  —  which  might  be  invoked  even 
before  the  end  of  his  term,  and  certainly  when  that  time  came. 
Further  checks  on  the  visitor  lay  in  the  inertia  to  reforms  which 
permeated  official  and  commercial  circles  at  all  times,  and  in  the 
obstinate  opposition  with  which  curtailment  of  special  privilege 
and  illicit  gain  was  met.  Smuggling  and  official  theft,  due  to  the 
restrictive  monopoly  of  trade,  burdensome  taxation,  and  the  un¬ 
wise  practice  of  selling  non- judicial  offices,  created  a  community 
of  illicit  interests  which  bound  together  colonial  officialdom  for 
instinctive  self-preservation  whenever  the  personal  emissary  of 
the  king  began  his  investigations. 

But  Galvez  was  a  man  of  incredible  energy,  great  nervous  force, 
towering  ambition,  and  malignant  vindictiveness.  He  was  well 
intrenched  in  the  influence  at  court  of  the  French-Italian  party, 
and  so  came  in  the  end  to  triumph  over  the  commercial  interests, 
represented  by  the  Council  of  the  Indies. 

The  visitor-general  reached  Vera  Cruz  July  18,  1765.  At  the 
outset  he  antagonized  Crufllas,  the  viceroy,  by  sending  a  war¬ 
ship  to  the  Laguna  de  Terminos  on  his  own  responsibility,  to 
capture  French  and  English  smugglers.  Spanish  officials  there 
involved  in  smuggling  were  suspended,  and  others  were  appointed 
by  Galvez  without  the  viceroy’s  sanction.  In  his  capacity  as 
intendant  of  the  army,  Galvez  ordered  detachments  of  troops  about, 
tried  a  case  at  common  criminal  law,  and  intervened  in  affairs  of 
military  administration.  Proceeding  to  Mexico,  he  undid  the 
work  of  Espinosa,  who,  with  Crufllas,  was  effecting  organization 
of  the  tobacco  monopoly  under  the  contract  or  farming  system. 
In  all  that  he  touched,  Galvez  showed  that  he  had  no  intention  of 
being  controlled  by  Crufllas.  The  latter  resented  this  attitude, 
and  a  conflict  ensued  in  which  the  viceroy  was  loser.  Both 
officials  complained  to  the  king  of  their  inability  to  work  together. 
It  was  not  long  until  Crufllas  was  recalled,  and  Galvez  ordered  to 
take  his  residencia.  This  arrangement  was  later  changed,  and 
the  residencia  was  finally  taken  by  Arangovti,  fiscal  of  Guatemala, 
and  not  by  Areche,  fiscal  of  Manila  and  later  of  Mexico,  as  has  been 
elsewhere  asserted. 

2a 


354 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


The  successor  of  Crufllas,  the  Marques  de  Croix,  Francisco  de 
Croix,  assumed  the  viceroyalty  in  August,  1767.  He  had  re¬ 
ceived  reiterated  commands,  before  leaving  Spain,  to  facilitate 
the  visitation  of  Galvez.  After  his  arrival,  the  visitation, 
for  a  year  past  ineffectual,  moved  forward  with  a  relentless 
energy  and  efficiency  hitherto  unheard  of  in  New  Spain.  In  cor¬ 
dial  collaboration,  the  two  men  carried  out  the  decrees  of  the 
Jesuit  expulsion  of  1767 ;  they  planned  and  Galvez  executed 
the  reorganization  of  Lower  California,  and  the  famous  expedi¬ 
tions  which  resulted  in  the  occupation  of  San  Diego  and  Monterey 
in  Upper  California.  In  Sonora  and  Sinaloa  the  great  pacification 
and  colonization  scheme  met  with  defeat  owing  to  the  failure  of 
the  military  expedition  of  1768-71  to  reduce  the  elusive  savage 
tribes ;  but  the  system  attempted  by  Galvez  was  afterward  used 
by  the  colonial  and  Mexican  governments  in  settling  the  northern 
frontiers.  It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  northern  activities 
of  Galvez,  —  the  occupation  of  Monterey  and  establishment  of 
the  Provincias  Internas,  —  while  urged  forcibly  as  military  neces¬ 
sities,  had  as  their  basic  purpose  the  extension  of  the  opportunity  to 
obtain  royal  revenues ;  to  add  new  and  rich  domains  was  the  same 
ambition  as  that  of  Cortes,  which  drove  Galvez  to  the  frontier  of 
New  Spain  two  centuries  and  a  half  after  the  first  great  conqueror. 

It  was  in  the  actual  administration  of  affairs  of  real  hacienda, 
however,  that  Galvez  found  success  in  the  prime  object  of  his 
mission  —  to  increase  revenue.  Typical  of  this  work  was  the 
reorganization  of  customs  collection  at  Vera  Cruz.  At  that  port 
a  chaotic  condition  existed  when  Galvez  arrived.  The  customs 
were  collected  in  ‘part  by  oficiales  reales,  and  in  part  by  revenue 
farmers.  Some  of  the  duties  were  paid  at  one  building  to  the 
oficiales,  and  at  another  to  the  revenue  farmers.  No  adequate 
invoices  were  sent  inland  with  the  pack-trains,  so  that  the  quan¬ 
tity  of  goods  delivered  was  not  accounted  for ;  the  revenue  mark 
(■ marchamo )  was  not  affixed  to  goods  that  passed  inspection,  the 
coast  guard  was  weak  and  corrupt,  so  that  smuggling  was  easy 
and  profitable,  and  the  oficiales  were  making  extortionate  profits 
by  allowing  goods  to  pass  without  duty.  The  “cochino  de  Vera 
Cruz  ”  —  the  Vera  Cruz  hog  —  was  a  corruption  fund  to  which 
shipmasters  and  merchants  contributed  for  immunity  from  duties 


THE  REFORMS  OF  JOSfi  DE  GALVES  IN  NEW  SPAIN  355 


or  for  scaling  down  levies.  The  books  of  the  custom-house  were 
wretchedly  kept,  and  the  regulations  governing  protection  of  the 
public  funds  were  violated  with  tacit  consent  of  the  viceroys. 

After  inspecting  Vera  Cruz  and  Mexico,  Galvez  found  only  two 
officers  whose  duties  had  been  discharged  in  a  manner  above  re¬ 
proach.  The  commercial  interests  were  equally  at  fault.  Per¬ 
haps  the  worst  situation  of  all  arose  from  the  fact  that  the  alcabala 
was  not  charged  on  goods  to  be  sold  at  Vera  Cruz,  but  upon  goods 
sent  inland  from  the  port.  The  result  was  that  the  merchants 
got  most  of  their  goods  into  their  own  possession  on  account  of 
short  storage  facilities,  alleging  that  their  stock  was  to  be  sold  in 
Vera  Cruz,  whereas  most  of  it  was  subsequently  smuggled  inland, 
with  loss  to  the  crown  of  thousands  of  pesos  annually  in  alcabala 
revenues. 

The  remedy  for  this  situation  was  the  Instruccion  provisional 
of  1767,  which  augmented  the  customs  guards,  centralized  col¬ 
lection  of  duties  under  the  oficiales  reales,  specified  minute  rules 
for  the  protection  of  the  revenues  collected,  restricted  the  system 
of  delays  in  payment  of  duties,  and  made  the  alcabala  a  duty 
payable  at  entry  instead  of  at  departure  from  Vera  Cruz. 

Similar  remedies  were  invoked  for  similar  evils  at  Acapulco ; 
at  that  port,  as  well  as  at  Vera  Cruz,  the  essential  features  of  the 
Galvez  reforms  consisted  in  intensifying  the  rigor  with  which 
the  revenues  were  collected.  Change  of  the  alcabala  from  six  to 
four  per  cent  thus  worked  an  actual  increase  in  crown  income,  in¬ 
asmuch  as  under  the  new  system  the  duty  prescribed  was  actually 
collected.  At  Acapulco  the  most  far-reaching  reform  measure 
was  the  assessment  of  duty  on  the  Manila  trade  upon  an  actual 
ad  valorem  basis,  instead  of  upon  an  estimated  value  of  125  pesos 
to  each  package  introduced.  But  the  success  of  all  attempts  to 
enforce  faithful  collection  of  duties  depended  most  of  all  upon  the 
integrity  of  the  officials  charged  with  the  task.  On  this  point 
Galvez  was  guided  by  the  fatuous  idea  that  his  own  appointees 
could  do  no  evil ;  the  constant  struggle  of  administering  the  col¬ 
onies  was  to  discover  men  for  the  offices  who  were  sufficiently 
honest  to  consider  appointment  to  the  Indies  as  anything  but 
an  opportunity  for  self-enrichment. 

During  the  Galvez  visitation  the  government  price  on  quick- 


356 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


silver,  which  was  controlled  as  a  monopoly,  was  reduced  by  one- 
fourth,  and  the  sale  of  this  commodity  to  small  mining  operators 
was  undertaken ;  this  policy  resulted  in  some  augmentation  of  the 
production  of  gold,  an  effect  which  was  also  partly  the  result  of 
reductions  in  the  salt  tax,  both  salt  and  quicksilver  being  essen¬ 
tials  in  the  processes  of  extracting  the  precious  metals.  Efforts 
to  control  gunpowder  production  did  not  succeed  in  eliminating 
illicit  manufacture  of  that  article  in  the  mining  regions,  but  did 
procure  for  the  government  a  cheaper  and  better  supply  of  am¬ 
munition  for  war  purposes,  while  the  revenue  was  increased  to 
some  extent. 

The  great  tobacco  monopoly,  established  by  Galvez  in  1765-68, 
became  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  revenue  of  New  Spain.  The 
production  of  tobacco  was  limited  to  certain  small  areas,  other 
regions  being  prohibited  from  producing  tobacco  even  for  private 
use ;  the  product  was  sold  in  government  stores,  by  officials  of 
real  hacienda.  The  revenue  received  was  about  as  large  as  the 
entire  cost  of  operating  the  viceregal  government.  It  was  not, 
however,  applied  to  the  viceregal  treasury,  but  was  sent  direct 
to  Spain,  in  common  with  the  revenues  of  the  playing-card  and 
quicksilver  monopolies.  The  industry  gave  employment  to 
thousands  of  poor  in  Mexico  and  Puebla,  but  resulted  in  impov¬ 
erishment  of  certain  regions  near  Guadalajara,  where  tobacco 
had  been  a  staple  product  before  the  days  of  the  monopoly. 

The  greatest  administrative  evil  in  New  Spain,  according  to  the 
opinion  of  Galvez  and  of  many  other  men  who  did  not  follow  his 
opinions  generally,  was  the  system  of  local  administration  by 
alcaldes.  These  officers,  charged  with  the  administration  of  local 
justice  and  the  collection  of  the  tributes,  bought  their  offices  and 
paid  their  half  annates  —  yearly  tax  on  the  employment  - —  but 
they  had  long  ceased  to  receive  the  salaries  for  which  they  had 
contracted  when  purchasing  their  offices.  As  a  result,  they  were 
obliged  to  engage  in  mercantile  pursuits,  neglecting  all  but  the 
tributes  most  easily  collected,  and  using  their  official  positions 
to  enhance  their  own  prosperity  instead  of  that  of  their  dis¬ 
tricts. 

The  remedy  for  this  evil  Galvez  and  Croix  believed  to  be  the 
system  of  intendants.  In  1768  they  obtained  the  consent  of  the 


THE  REFORMS  OF  JOSfi  DE  GALVEZ  IN  NEW  SPAIN  357 


king  to  the  change,  but  the  matter  rested,  pending  choice  of 
suitable  men  to  discharge  the  new  duties.  Tentatively,  Lower 
California,  Sonora,  and  Sinaloa  were  put  by  Galvez  under  the  rule 
of  intendants,  but  the  system  was  not  installed  in  New  Spain  at 
large  until  1787,  in  which  year  Galvez  died,  and  it  was  work¬ 
ing  only  imperfectly  in  1792,  when  the  first  real  friend  of  the  sys¬ 
tem  among  the  viceroys,  Revillagigedo,  set  about  establishing  it 
effectually. 

The  salient  feature  of  the  intendant  system  was  the  subdele¬ 
gation  of  viceregal  duties  to  local  representatives.  The  intend¬ 
ants  were  charged  with  the  phases  of  government  called  war, 
justice,  police,  and  treasury,  It  was  in  their  immediate  super¬ 
vision  of  the  collection  of  revenues  within  their  intendancies  that 
they  served  the  central  administration  best.  In  actual  practice, 
they  improved  the  other  phases  of  government  very  little.  Under 
the  original  plan  of  Galvez,  they  were  directly  responsible  to  a 
superintendent,  who  was,  in  1787,  distinct  from  the  viceroy, 
though  that  official  had  acted  as  superintendent  of  real  hacienda 
since  the  appointment  of  the  first  Revillagigedo.  It  was  soon 
seen,  however,  that  the  change  so  diminished  the  prestige  and 
authority  of  the  viceroy,  that  he  was  no  longer  looked  upon  as 
more  than  a  military  chief.  Such  unseemly  bickerings  arose 
during  the  early  trial  of  the  new  check  on  the  viceroy  that  it  was 
abandoned  after  only  two  years’  trial,  and  in  1789  the  viceroy 
again  assumed  direct  supervision  of  real  hacienda. 

Another  check  upon  the  viceroy,  or  reduction  of  his  manifold 
duties,  was  the  establishment  of  the  Provincias  Internas,  by  which 
the  northern  frontier  was  placed  under  a  military  commandant 
independent  in  routine  administration  of  the  territory  lying  within 
the  borders  of  the  present  California,  New  Mexico,  Chihuahua, 
Sonora,  Sinaloa,  Coahuila,  and  Texas.  The  main  defect  of  this 
plan  of  subdivision  was  that  the  territory  so  set  off  was  too  vast, 
too  sparsely  settled,  and  too  disadvantageous^  placed  geo¬ 
graphically  for  successful  unification.  Indeed,  nowhere  was  more 
keenly  felt  the  paucity  of  Spanish  resources  to  protect  the  vast 
stretches  of  territory  which  had  of  necessity  to  be  held  as  a  pro¬ 
tection  for  the  older  southern  New  Spain  against  the  aggressive 
policies  of  Spain’s  traditional  competitors  for  world  dominion. 


358 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


During  the  Galvez  visitation  and  his  subsequent  ministry,  the 
old  trammels  which  had  bound  commerce  to  a  mistaken  policy 
and  economic  ideal  were  removed  by  the  gradual  establishment  of 
“  free  commerce.”  This  change,  like  those  already  enumerated, 
was  long  in  formulation,  and  slow  in  its  inception.  In  1764-65 
several  ports  were  opened  in  Spain  and  America.  In  1768  and 
1772,  additions  were  made  to  these,  and  in  1778  practically  all  the 
old  restrictions  with  respect  to  the  freedom  of  the  ports  were  re¬ 
moved.  Duties  were  at  the  same  time  greatly  reduced  in  amount, 
and  simplified  in  assessment.  The  fleets  and  galleons  were  elim¬ 
inated,  the  consulados  were  increased  in  number,  and  especial 
efforts  were  made  to  favor  national  trade  and  manufacture.  It 
is  too  much  to  claim  for  Galvez  sole  credit  for  conceiving  this  policy. 
Indeed,  we  know  that  it  was  seriously  considered  in  1764,  before 
he  began  his  public  career.  But  to  him  more  than  to  any  other  is 
due  credit  for  the  vigor  with  which  the  plan  was  carried  out,  under 
the  influence  of  Campomanes  and  Floridablanca,  native  Spanish 
ministers  who,  after  the  waning  of  the  influence  of  Charles’  foreign 
ministers,  achieved  most  of  those  reforms  which  have  rendered 
famous  the  reign  of  the  last  great  Spanish  Bourbon.  To  no  pub¬ 
lic  measure  was  so  much  credit  due  for  the  increased  prosperity 
of  the  New  World  as  to  the  Reglamento  of  1778.  Under  it,  rather 
than  under  the  system  of  intendants,  the  revenues  from  New  Spain 
increased  from  six  million  to  twenty  million  pesos  within  a  period 
of  twenty  years. 

If  any  generic  criticism  of  the  Galvez  reforms  is  permissible,  it 
would  be  near  the  truth  to  say  that  they  were  essentially  economic, 
at  a  time  when  the  demands  of  the  situation  were  equally  imper¬ 
ative  for  social  and  judicial  reform.  The  intendant  system,  while 
increasing  efficiency  of  administration,  was  nevertheless  felt  by 
the  Creole  population  to  be  one  more  avenue  of  advancement  from 
which  they  were  needlessly  cut  off.  Its  effect  was  to  intensify 
rather  than  to  mitigate  the  evils  of  which  Spanish-Americans 
complained. 

But  the  reforms  initiated  under  the  reign  of  Charles  III  had 
too  inadequate  opportunity  for  complete  trial  before  the  move¬ 
ments  of  unrest  which,  arising  from  revolutionary  beginnings  in 
America  and  Europe,  engaged  nearly  the  entire  New  World  in  its 


THE  REFORMS  OF  JOSE  DE  GlLVEZ  IN  NEW  SPAIN  359 


great  movement  for  political  emancipation.  It  is  curiously  true 
that  in  the  eighteenth  century,  which  for  Spain  marked  a  pro¬ 
spectively  possible  return  to  her  old-time  position  as  one  of  the 
dominant  political  powers  of  Europe,  both  the  renascent  and  the 
decadent  movements  owed  their  origin  to  the  influence  of  Spain’s 
neighbor  and  ally,  France. 


CALIFORNIA 


THE  “HOME  GUARD”  OF  1861 


Horace  Davis 

About  six  years  ago  Mr.  Benjamin  H.  Dibblee  found  among 
the  papers  of  his  father,  the  late  Albert  Dibblee,  the  records 
and  muster  rolls  of  the  Home  Guard  of  1861.  Seeing  my  name 
signed  to  one  of  the  rolls,  he  brought  it  to  me  to  find  out  what 
it  was.  I  was  surprised  that  any  memento  remained  of  the  or¬ 
ganization,  which  was  a  secret  league  formed  here  at  the  most 
critical  period  of  the  Civil  War,  to  ensure  the  loyalty  of  Cali¬ 
fornia  to  the  Lincoln  administration.  It  was  disbanded  in  Sep¬ 
tember,  1861,  after  the  election  of  a  loyal  governor  was  assured  — 
which  placed  the  State  in  cordial  cooperation  with  the  govern¬ 
ment  at  Washington. 

Mr.  Dibblee  afterwards  handed  me  the  documents,  which  I 
deposited  in  the  Bancroft  Library  as  a  gift  from  the  heirs  of  Albert 
Dibblee.  This  paper  recounts  the  events  leading  up  to  the  forma¬ 
tion  of  that  League. 

Going  back  to  the  State  election  in  the  fall  of  1859  we  find  the 
political  elements  divided  into  three  parties  —  Administration 
or  “Lecompton”  Democrats,  Douglas  Democrats,  and  Republicans 
or  Freesoilers.  The  lines  of  cleavage  followed  the  treatment  of 
the  Kansas  problem.  President  Buchanan  wanted  Congress  to 
recognize  the  Lecompton  pro-slavery  state  constitution,  Douglas 
was  opposed  to  that  policy,  and  the  Republicans  were  for  Free- 
soil  in  all  the  territories,  limiting  slavery  to  the  states  where  it  was 
already  established. 

The  Lecompton  Democrats  included  the  Southerners  in  the 
State,  who  were  numerous  and  powerful  in  wealth  and  social 
position ;  in  addition  they  had  the  backing  of  the  Federal  and 
State  patronage.  At  the  State  election  in  September,  1859,  they 
won  by  an  overwhelming  majority  over  both  the  other  parties, 

363 


364 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


polling  60  per  cent  of  the  vote,  against  30  per  cent  of  Douglas 
Democrats  and  only  10  per  cent  of  the  Republicans. 

When  the  smoke  of  the  battle  cleared  away  it  looked  as  though 
the  “Chivalry  Wing”  of  the  Democracy,  as  it  was  generally  called, 
was  so  firmly  seated  in  the  state  government  that  there  was 
little  hope  in  the  future  for  the  Douglas  men,  and  none  at  all  for 
the  Republicans.  But  the  next  year,  1860,  the  presidential 
election  brought  marvellous  changes.  The  “Chivs”  fell  from 
their  high  estate,  and  the  electoral  vote  of  California  went  to 
Abraham  Lincoln.  Though  he  did  not  poll  a  third  of  the  vote 
cast,  he  won  the  State  by  a  meagre  plurality  of  700  votes  out  of 
nearly  120,000 ;  the  Douglas  men  were  second  in  the  race,  while 
the  Chivalry  came  third,  their  vote  having  dropped  from  60  per 
cent  to  less  than  29. 

This  popular  landslide  was  a  revolt  against  the  political  tyranny 
of  the  Administration  Democrats,  accentuated  by  the  killing 
of  Senator  Broderick,  the  only  man  who  had  ever  defeated  them, 
killed  in  a  duel  which  was  openly  charged  to  be  the  result  of  a 
deliberate  conspiracy.  Outside  these  Democratic  quarrels  the 
Republicans  made  a  vigorous  campaign  on  the  lines  of  their  own 
political  faith,  emphasizing  the  love  of  the  Union,  holding  up  to 
view  the  threats  of  secession  freely  made  by  the  Chivalry,  and 
covering  the  State  with  their  very  best  speakers,  such  as  Rev. 
Thomas  Starr  King  and  Col.  E.  D.  Baker. 

After  the  presidential  election,  events  in  the  East  leading  up 
to  the  Civil  War  followed  one  another  very  rapidly.  The  cotton 
states  seceded  and  formed  the  Montgomery  Confederacy  in  Febru¬ 
ary,  1861.  Lincoln  was  duly  inaugurated  on  the  fourth  of  March 
and  the  next  month  the  Confederacy  fired  on  Fort  Sumter.  Fir¬ 
ing  on  the  national  flag  was  real  war  and  it  was  followed  by  an 
upburst  of  intense  feeling  on  both  sides  of  the  line.  The  whole 
country  was  ablaze.  In  May  President  Lincoln  declared  a  block¬ 
ade  of  the  Southern  ports  and  called  for  75,000  men.  At  once 
four  border  states  seceded  and  joined  the  Southern  Confederacy, 
which  now  moved  its  capital  to  Richmond.  The  time  for  com¬ 
promise  was  over.  The  Confederates  had  fired  on  the  flag.  War 
was  actually  upon  us,  the  whole  country  north  and  south  was 
boiling  with  excitement  and  we  lined  up  for  the  fray. 


THE  “HOME  GUARD”  OF  1861 


365 


I  have  outlined  above  the  political  situation  in  California  and 
east  of  the  Rockies  leading  up  to  May  1861.  It  was  a  critical 
position  for  the  Pacific  coast.  Detached  from  the  rest  of  the 
country  by  a  gap  of  twenty-five  days  Isthmus  transit  we  were 
left  to  work  out  our  own  salvation  in  great  measure  and  it  was 
a  doubtful  problem. 

A  considerable  section  of  our  people  were  foreigners,  devoid 
of  loyalty  to  the  flag;  another  part  were  born  south  of  Mason 
and  Dixon’s  line  and  sympathized  with  the  South.  These  men  did 
not  advocate  joining  the  Southern  Confederacy  but  they  advised 
neutrality.  They  said  :  “  What  have  we  to  do  with  these  Eastern 
divisions ;  we  have  no  interest  in  slavery  out  here  one  way  or  the 
other  —  let  them  fight  out  their  own  quarrels ;  the  thing  for  us 
to  do  is  to  form  a  Pacific  Republic  of  our  own,  independent  of 
both  factions.  We  are  so  isolated  we  have  got  to  take  care  of  our¬ 
selves  anyway.  Probably  a  third  of  our  people  are  Southern  men, 
why  not  hold  together  and  all  work  for  California?”  It  was 
a  specious  argument,  dangerous  in  the  extreme,  with  a  strong 
backing  of  political  and  social  influence.  The  Southern  men  were 
numerous,  many  of  them  wealthy  and  holding  high  business  and 
social  positions.  Every  man  representing  California  in  Congress 
was  from  the  South.  The  Federal  patronage  had  been  theirs 
up  to  the  summer  of  ’61 ;  the  state  government  was  entirely  in 
their  hands;  the  commanding  officers  in  the  army  and  navy  on 
this  coast  and  the  highest  judicial  functionary  were  all  Southern 
men. 

There  was  one  bright  spot ;  the  municipal  government  of  San 
Francisco  was  sound  to  the  core.  As  reorganized  by  the  Vigilance 
Committee  in  1856  it  was  absolutely  sound ;  though  non-partisan 
it  was  absolutely  loyal  to  the  Washington  administration ;  and 
San  Francisco  was  the  key  to  the  situation  on  the  Pacific  coast ; 
whoever  held  this  city  could  control  the  coast.  But  at  some  points 
in  the  interior,  especially  Sonoma,  San  Joaquin  and  Visalia,  the 
“secesh,”  as  we  called  them,  were  numerous  and  noisy,  raising  the 
Confederate  flag  and  even  organizing  military  companies  at  one 
or  two  places.  The  counties  south  of  Tehachapi  too,  being  largely 
Mexicans,  were  willing  to  secede.  —  But  as  long  as  the  United  States 
held  San  Francisco  the  malcontents  could  do  little  but  bluster. 


366 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


It  must  not  be  thought  the  Union  men  were  idle  all  this  time. 
We  held  a  grand  Union  mass  meeting  here  on  Washington’s  Birth¬ 
day  and  we  sent  our  best  speakers  all  over  the  interior  to  arouse 
the  patriotism  of  the  people  and  organize  resistance  to  seccession. 
Thomas  Starr  King  was  especially  efficient  in  this  line  and  to  him 
more  than  any  other  one  man  is  due  the  kindling  of  the  spirit 
of  loyalty  to  the  Union. 

And  at  last  things  began  to  drift  our  way.  Gwin’s  senatorial 
term  expired  and  we  got  a  Douglas  Democrat  in  his  place.  As 
soon  as  possible  after  Lincoln’s  inauguration  the  Buchanan  Fed¬ 
eral  officials  were  replaced  by  men  in  sympathy  with  the  new  Presi¬ 
dent.  Best  of  all  he  detailed  General  Edwin  V.  Sumner  to  super¬ 
sede  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  in  command  of  the  Pacific  Division  of 
the  United  States  Army.  To  escape  observation  Sumner  boarded 
the  Panama  steamer  at  New  York  after  she  left  the  pier,  but  some 
spy  in  the  department  at  Washington  sent  word  to  Johnston 
overland  by  Pony  Express.  When  Sumner  arrived  via  Panama 
on  April  24,  he  took  command  the  same  day.  Johnston,  however, 
was  ready  for  him,  having  already  sent  to  Washington  his  resigna¬ 
tion  of  his  commission  in  the  Army. 

By  a  singular  coincidence  the  news  of  the  bombardment  of 
Sumter  came  overland  the  same  day  General  Sumner  reached  us 
by  the  Isthmus,  and  it  created  a  profound  impression ;  firing  on  the 
flag  was  war  and  we  saw  clearer  every  day  that  there  was  no  middle 
course ;  it  was  for  or  against  the  Union.  When  the  fall  of  Sumter 
reached  us  the  patriotic  men  resolved  to  hold  a  grand  rally  for  the 
Union  on  May  11th.  Business  was  suspended,  banks  were  closed, 
the  town  was  decked  with  flags  and  an  immense  mass  meeting  was 
held  at  the  junction  of  Post,  Montgomery  and  Market,  which  was 
addressed  by  both  United  States  senators,  by  Generals  Sumner  and 
Shields  of  the  United  States  Army  and  by  several  prominent  citi¬ 
zens.  The  crowd  was  so  great  that  overflow  meetings  were  organized 
in  the  neighborhood  which  were  also  addressed  by  earnest  speakers. 
Glowing  patriotic  resolutions  were  passed  pledging  the  State  to 
support  Lincoln’s  Administration.  At  the  same  time  Union  mass 
meetings  were  held  at  various  points  in  the  interior.  The  whole 
movement  was  a  great  success,  and  turned  many  a  hesitating  man 
to  the  support  of  the  Union.  Among  other  good  things  it  braced 


THE  “HOME  GUARD”  OF  1861 


367 


up  the  wavering  legislature  to  pass  some  strong  resolutions  pledg¬ 
ing  the  State  to  stand  by  the  Government.  The  governor  of  the 
State,  John  G.  Downey,  a  Douglas  Democrat,  had  been  asked  to 
preside  at  our  mass  meeting,  but  he  declined,  alleging  that  his 
duties  detained  him  at  Sacramento,  and  in  his  letter  he  repudiated 
the  policy  of  Lincoln  in  these  words  “I  do  not  believe  that  an 
aggressive  war  should  be  waged  on  any  section  of  the  Confederacy, 
nor  do  I  believe  that  this  Union  can  be  preserved  by  a  coercive 
policy.  ”  That  letter  killed  Downey  politically. 

General  Sumner  immediately  on  his  arrival  had  entered  on  an 
active  campaign  to  strengthen  the  position  of  the  Federal  govern¬ 
ment.  He  drew  in  the  detachments  of  troops  which  Johnston 
had  scattered  over  the  interior  of  the  State ;  he  removed  the  arms 
and  munitions  of  war  to  a  place  of  safety  on  Alcatraz  Island, 
over  which  he  placed  a  strong  garrison.  He  raised  the  regiments 
required  by  Lincoln’s  call,  and  cooperated  in  every  way  to  put 
the  city  in  a  condition  of  safety. 

For  we  were  in  the  position  of  a  border  State  rather  than  a 
Northern  State.  Our  situation  was  more  like  Kentucky  than  like 
New  York.  Many  of  our  people  were  indifferent  as  to  the  out¬ 
come,  and  a  large  element  sympathized  freely  with  the  Southern 
Confederacy.  Your  next  door  neighbor  might  be  a  Southern  man. 
You  traded  together,  met  on  the  floor  of  the  Exchange,  belonged 
to  the  same  church  or  lodge,  your  families  were  intimate,  meeting 
constantly  in  social  matters,  and  yet  in  public  affairs  he  was  an 
enemy,  may  be  a  spy.  Extreme  vigilance  was  necessary  to  meet 
the  plotters  in  our  very  midst. 

After  the  arrival  of  Sumner,  when  we  felt  that  we  were  com¬ 
paratively  safe,  that  the  United  States  forces  were  in  loyal  hands, 
the  next  move  was  to  ensure  the  fidelity  of  the  State  government. 
A  State  election  was  coming  in  September  and  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
very  anxious  that  we  should  choose  a  man  for  governor  on  whom 
he  could  rely,  who  would  hold  up  his  hands.  Slavery  cut  no  figure 
out  here.  The  only  issue  with  us  was  the  saving  of  the  Union. 
If  we  could  combine  the  Douglas  men  and  the  Republicans,  they 
would  far  outnumber  the  Secessionists,  but  the  political  schemers 
undermined  us  at  every  turn.  Ultimately  they  prevented  the 
coalition  of  the  two  parties,  but  it  was  just  as  well,  for  we 


368 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


fought  it  out  on  our  own  lines  and  at  last  won  the  battle  for 
ourselves. 

Two  prominent  events  of  the  summer  of  ’61  helped  us  very 
much.  On  June  3,  Stephen  A.  Douglas  died,  leaving  his  party 
without  a  head,  and  six  weeks  later  came  the  defeat  at  Bull  Run 
and  the  narrow  escape  of  Washington  from  capture.  This  only 
stimulated  us  to  greater  effort,  while  it  showed  the  Douglas 
men  there  was  no  stopping  ground  between  union  and  secession, 
between  Lincoln  and  Jeff  Davis. 

There  were  really  but  two  tenable  positions,  for  or  against 
the  government,  and  we  called  on  every  man  to  take  his  stand  on 
one  side  or  the  other.  Patriotism  fused  with  religion  and  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  were  raised  on  all  Protestant  churches,  except 
the  Episcopal,  and  the  pulpits  rang  with  patriotic  appeals.  Mass 
meetings  were  called  all  over  the  State,  and  we  sent  out  our  ablest 
and  most  eloquent  men  as  missionaries.  Starr  King  was  espe¬ 
cially  conspicuous  and  he  travelled  over  the  interior  from  north 
to  south,  firing  the  zeal  of  the  loyal  men.  His  meetings  were 
sometimes  disturbed,  and  occasionally  his  life  was  threatened, 
but  take  it  altogether,  it  was  wonderful  that  so  few  real  disturb¬ 
ances  occurred. 

The  Union  men  worked  very  hard  to  combine  the  two  parties 
on  one  ticket.  Committees  and  conferences  met  daily  and  it  was 
one  of  these  conferences  that  led  indirectly  to  the  formation  of  the 
“  Home  Guard.” 

Some  time  in  the  latter  part  of  the  summer,  my  friend,  James 
Otis,  afterwards  mayor,  asked  me  to  go  with  him  to  a  meeting 
of  citizens  in  his  office  on  Sansome  Street,  near  Pine,  that  evening. 
About  fifty  men  were  there,  but  nothing  was  done.  Apparently 
they  were  all  trying  to  do  politics.  So,  as  we  filed  out  after  an 
hour’s  empty  talk,  Otis  whispered,  “Follow  me,  but  keep  at  a 
distance.”  To  my  surprise,  he  turned  north.  I  crossed  the  street 
and  kept  him  in  sight.  We  went  on  clear  to  Pacific  Street,  where 
we  found  the  iron  doors  of  Dewitt,  Ixittle  &  Company’s  ware¬ 
house  ajar,  and  went  in.  A  light  was  soon  turned  on  in  the  inner 
office,  and  in  a  few  minutes  eight  or  ten  men  had  gathered  there. 

We  quickly  organized  ourselves  into  a  permanent  committee 
of  safety,  to  do  what  we  could  to  put  down  secession  and  to  keep 


THE  “HOME  GUARD”  OF  1861 


369 


California  true  to  the  Union.  We  acted  nominally  under  the  au¬ 
thority  of  the  Union  Committee  of  Thirty-four,  appointed  at  the 
great  mass  meeting  of  May  11.  We  resolved  to  keep  up  our  organ¬ 
ization  as  long  as  it  was  needed,  and  for  the  present  we  determined 
that  our  meetings  had  better  be  secret.  In  point  of  fact,  when 
the  fall  elections  placed  the  government  in  safe  hands,  we  dis¬ 
solved  our  committee.  It  was  a  pretty  strong  body  of  men  :  Otis, 
John  Kittle,  Albert  Dibblee,  Fitch  of  the  Bulletin,  General  Lucius 
H.  Allen,  Rev.  Thomas  Starr  King,  C.  J.  Dempster,  I  think,  and 
others  whom  I  have  forgotten.  Sometimes  General  Sumner  at¬ 
tended  our  meetings,  and  sometimes  men  prominent  in  the  city 
government.  We  worked  to  elect  a  war  governor  who  would 
do  all  he  could  to  uphold  the  hands  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  Of  the  three 
candidates  Stanford  was  the  only  one  who  filled  the  bill.  Next 
we  labored  to  maintain  the  patriotic  propaganda  throughout  the 
State,  of  which  Starr  King  was  the  great  apostle.  Then  we  tried 
to  fill  the  organized  militia  regiments  and  bring  them  up  to  the 
best  possible  standard  of  efficiency ;  and  last,  we  urged  every 
loyal  man  to  declare  himself,  and  we  enrolled  the  friends  of  the 
government  into  a  “Home  Guard,”  which  could  be  called  on  in 
case  of  necessity.  Our  purpose  included  only  those  who  were  not 
already  enrolled  in  the  militia  or  some  other  organization  pledg¬ 
ing  them  to  an  unqualified  support  of  the  Union.  We  were  suc¬ 
cessful  in  all  our  points. 

The  strong  patriotic  sentiment  soon  filled  the  ranks  of  the  mi¬ 
litia  to  overflowing,  and  new  companies  were  formed,  mainly  of 
young  men.  A  man  who  couldn’t  go  to  the  war  could  at  least 
give  some  of  his  time  to  protecting  his  home.  I  myself  joined  the 
Citj'  Guard  and  carried  a  musket  in  the  ranks  till  1866. 

Meantime,  in  July,  came  requisitions  from  Washington  for 
soldiers  for  the  Union  Army.  These  were  promptly  filled,  the 
offerings  of  volunteers  being  largely  in  advance  of  the  require¬ 
ments.  And  I  may  add  here,  that  California  furnished  during  the 
war  somewhere  about  thirteen  to  fifteen  thousand  soldiers.  She 
offered  to  raise  more  men,  but  it  was  deemed  unwise  to  deplete 
her  fighting  resources  in  view  of  her  isolated  position  and  the  trou¬ 
blesome  element  in  her  midst. 

Returning  to  the  work  of  our  committee,  we  succeeded  in  enroll- 


370 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


ing  a  large  body  of  reliable  men  of  this  city,  not  otherwise  pledged, 
in  our  “Home  Guard.”  About  1909  Mr.  Ben  H.  Dibblee,  as  I 
said  before,  brought  me  the  muster  roll  of  my  own  company  which 
he  had  found  among  his  father’s  papers.  I  recognized  it  as  an 
old  friend,  of  sacred  memory.  Dibblee  gave  it  to  me  and  I  will 
read  it  to  you,  as  it  breathes  so  freshly  the  passions  and  sentiments 
of  the  summer  of  1861. 


(Endorsements) 

HOME  GUARD 

ROLL  NO.  28 

I  do  hereby  certify  that  the  20  names  on  the  within  Muster 
Roll  were  all  obtained  by  me,  and  that  I  personally  vouch  for 
each  and  every  one  of  the  signers  as  a  Faithful  And  Uncondi¬ 
tional  Union  Man. 

San  Francisco,  September  12,  1861.  Horace  Davis. 


(The  Call) 

San  Francisco, 

August  30, 1861. 

At  the  great  Union  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  this  city  held  on 
the  eleventh  day  of  May,  1861,  a  Union  Committee  of  Thirty-four 
was  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  taking  such  measures  as  might 
become  necessary  for  the  “detection  and  suppression  of  any 
treasonable  combinations  or  conspiracies  against  the  Union  and  the 
public  peace.”  Recent  indications  have  made  it  probable  that 
the  contingency  anticipated  in  the  resolution  appointing  that 
Committee  has  occurred,  and  that  combinations  dangerous  to  the 
Union  and  the  public  peace  are  being  formed,  or  have  actually 
been  completed,  in  this  City  and  throughout  the  State.  The 


THE  “HOME  GUARD”  OF  1861 


371 


Committee,  therefore,  have  deemed  it  necessary,  among  other 
measures  for  carrying  into  effect  the  purposes  of  their  appoint¬ 
ment,  to  recommend  the  establishment  of  a  Home  Guard  for  the 
City  and  County  of  San  Francisco ;  and  to  that  end  they  have 
delegated  to  an  Executive  Committee  of  Five,  from  their  own 
number,  the  necessary  power  to  perfect  such  an  organization,  and 
have  named  Lucius  H.  Allen,  of  the  firm  of  Allen  &  Lewis,  a 
graduate  of  West  Point,  and  for  many  years  an  officer  of  the  Army 
of  the  United  States,  as  the  Commander  of  such  Guard.  Under 
this  authority,  the  Executive  Committee  propose  the  enrollment 
of  all  good  Union  men,  who,  when  necessity  shall  arrive,  will  be 
willing  and  ready  to  take  up  arms  for  the  defense  of  their  homes 
and  the  suppression  of  treason  and  insurrection  —  their  forma¬ 
tion  into  Companies  of  sixty  each,  with  a  Captain  and  two  Lieu¬ 
tenants,  respectively,  to  be  chosen  by  themselves  and  approved 
by  the  Commander  —  and  such  further  organizations  as  may 
hereafter  be  deemed  necessary.  And  in  order  to  ascertain  who 
among  us  will  be  faithful  in  the  hour  of  trial,  and  may  safely  be 
entrusted  with  arms  to  oppose  the  traitors,  the  following  pledge 
is  offered  for  the  signatures  of  those  who  are  willing  to  enroll 
themselves  as  members  of  the  Home  Guard. 

Mr.  Horace  Davis  is  duly  authorized  to  obtain  such  signatures 
hereto. 

Alex  G.  Abell, 

Chairman  of  Executive  Committee. 


(The  Pledge) 

HOME  GUARD 
MUSTER  ROLL 

We,  the  undersigned,  do  hereby  solemnly  pledge  ourselves 
to  support  the  Government  and  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  promptly  and  faithfully  to  obey,  within  the  City  and 


372 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


County  of  San  Francisco,  during  the  existing  war,  any  and  all 
orders  emanating  from  the  military  officers  of  this  organization  for 
the  purpose  of  protecting  the  lives  and  property  of  the  citizens 
and  for  the  suppression  of  treason  and  insurrection. 

Signatures  Residence  Place  of  Business  Arms  on  Hand 

[Not  reproduced  here.] 


That  was  a  summer  of  intense  feeling  and  much  hard  work, 
but  it  was  crowned  with  success.  We  elected  Stanford  by  an  over¬ 
whelming  majority,  and  the  State  was  safe.  The  vote  stood, 
in  percentages, 

Stanford,  46.8 

Conness,  25.9 

McConnell,  27.3 

100. 

After  this  decisive  vote  many  of  the  Chivalry  leaders  left  to 
join  the  Southern  Confederacy.  There  was  an  exodus  of  southern 
office  holders,  including  Senator  Gwin,  both  congressmen,  the 
state  controller,  and  many  other  southern  sympathizers.  After 
this  the  fight  against  us  out  here  was  mainly  of  a  guerilla  character. 

I  need  only  add  that  the  only  active  service  the  Home  Guard 
ever  performed  was  to  keep  the  peace  around  the  polls  on  that 
eventful  election  day.  As  soon  as  we  knew  that  a  governor  was 
elected  who  was  true  to  the  Union,  and  loyal  to  the  Lincoln 
administration,  the  Home  Guard  was  dissolved  and  our  Committee 
disbanded.  It  had  never  seen  the  light  of  the  public  press  and  I 
did  not  suppose  any  reminder  of  its  existence  remained  until  Mr. 
Dibblee  brought  me  that  muster  roll. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 


Charles  E.  Chapman 

So  far  as  concerns  local  events  preliminary  to  the  founding  of 
San  Francisco  and  those  contemporary  with  it,  Hubert  Howe  Ban¬ 
croft  and,  more  recently,  Zoeth  Skinner  Eldredge  1  have  written 
in  such  detail  that  it  would  be  hardly  worth  while  to  attempt  to 
supplement  their  accounts.  Something  may  be  said,  however, 
of  the  attitude  of  the  Spanish  government  with  regard  to  settle¬ 
ment  of  San  Francisco,  and  it  is  to  that  phase  of  the  subject  that 
this  paper  will  be  devoted,  summarizing  the  correspondence  of 
the  viceroy  of  New  Spain  with  the  government  in  Spain,  on  the 
one  hand,  and,  to  a  less  extent,  with  officials  in  California,  on  the 
other.  Events  in  connection  writh  the  founding  will  be  given  only 
in  bare  outline.2 

The  first  Europeans  to  sail  along  the  coast  of  California  were 
Spaniards  under  Cabrillo  and  Ferrelo,  1542-43.  In  upward  of 
two  centuries  following,  a  number  of  others  passed  along  this 
coast,  Drake  in  1579,  and  Vizcaino  in  1602-3,  coming  from  the 
south,  and  an  unrecorded  number  of  galleons  from  Manila,  sail¬ 
ing  southward  to  Acapulco.  No  settlements  were  made,  but  the 
coast  line  from  Cape  Mendocino  to  Cape  San  Lucas  became 
fairly  well  known  in  a  general  way,  with  one  striking  exception, 
—  none  of  these  voyagers,  so  far  as  can  be  learned,  ever  noted  the 
Golden  Gate  and  the  great  bay  behind  it.  This  has  caused  some 
writers  to  assert  that  the  bay  did  not  exist,  when  Drake  landed 
not  far  from  where  it  now  is,  but  was  formed  later  by  what  must 
have  been  a  truly  wonderful  and  beneficent  convulsion  of  nature.3 

1  The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco  (2  vols.,  San  Francisco,  1912). 

2  Most  of  the  materials  quoted  in  this  paper  are  to  be  found  in  the  Archivo 
General  de  Indias  at  Seville,  Spain.  Other  materials  are  in  the  Archivo  General 
y  Publico  and  the  Museo  Nacional  of  Mexico,  and  in  the  Academy  of  Pacific  Coast 
History. 

3  The  latest  proponent  of  this  view  is  Mrs.  Gertrude  Atherton  in  her  work  called 
California :  an  Intimate  History  (New  York  and  London,  1914). 

373 


374 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


At  any  rate,  discovery  of  San  Francisco  Bay  was  postponed  until 
1769,  when  Gaspar  de  Portola  led  the  first  expedition  by  land  to 
California.  Scarcity  of  provisions  and  consequent  necessity  of 
returning  to  San  Diego  prevented  exploration  of  the  bay  by 
Portola.  A  year  later,  in  November,  1770,  Pedro  Fages  paid  a 
brief  visit  to  San  Francisco  Bay,  coming  overland  from  Monterey, 
but  made  no  extensive  exploration.  A  letter  by  Rivera,  an  officer 
with  Portola,  to  Viceroy  Croix,  March  2,  1770,  indicates  the 
impression  caused  by  the  discovery  upon  those  who  took  part  in 
it.  He  expressed  an  opinion  that  the  newly-discovered  port,  if 
deep  enough,  might  prove  to  be  better  than  the  one  at  San 
Diego.  It  also  had  all  necessary  requisites  as  a  site  for  settle¬ 
ment.1 

News  of  the  discovery  had  hardly  been  received  in  Mexico 
when  Croix  gave  orders,  November  12,  1770,  for  a  thorough  explo¬ 
ration  of  the  port,  and  establishment  of  a  mission  on  its  shores 
to  secure  it  from  occupation  by  another  power.  The  order  was 
received  in  May,  1771,  but  Fages  regarded  it  as  impossible  of  ful¬ 
filment,  because  of  the  great  number  of  Indians  in  California,  and 
his  inability  to  furnish  troops  for  mission  guards,  without  which 
missions  could  not  be  founded.2  This  drew  forth  a  long  letter 
of  complaint  from  the  Father  President  of  the  California  mis¬ 
sions,  Jumpero  Serra,  to  the  viceroy,  June  18,  1771.  He  believed 
the  delay  unnecessary.3 

The  Fages  and  Serra  letters  must  have  reached  Mexico  at  about 
the  time  when  a  new  viceroy  took  possession  of  the  government  of 
New  Spain,  Antonio  Maria  Bucarely  y  Ursua,  one  of  the  greatest 
rulers  that  New  Spain  ever  had.  Bucarely  came  to  power  in 
September,  1771.  For  nearly  two  years  thereafter,  he  was  con¬ 
cerned  so  far  as  California  affairs  went,  primarily  with  main¬ 
taining  what  had  already  been  established,  and  seeking  informa¬ 
tion  upon  which  to  base  measures  for  advancing  the  conquest. 
In  both  respects  he  encountered  difficulties.  As  late  as  February 
24,  1773,  Bucarely  wrote  to  Julian  de  Arriaga,  Spanish  minister 
of  the  Indies,  that  affairs  in  the  new  establishments  were  in  a 


1  Arch.  Gen.  y  Piib.,  Californias,  vol.  66. 

2  Fages  to  Croix,  June  20,  1771.  Arch.  Gen.  y  Pub.,  Californias,  vol.  66. 

s  Arch.  Gen.  y  Phb.,  Californias,  vol.  66. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 


375 


deplorable  state.  Discord  between  Fages  and  the  missionaries 
was  so  great,  and  desertions  of  soldiers  so  numerous,  that  early 
ruin  of  the  settlements  might  be  expected.1 

Clearly,  not  much  progress  with  the  formation  of  San  Francisco 
could  be  expected  under  these  circumstances.  Something, 
however,  had  been  attempted  in  March  and  April,  1772,  when 
Fages  made  an  overland  expedition  to  the  bay.  He  attempted 
to  get  around  it,  but  failed,  and  returned  to  Monterey.  He  had 
made  no  examination  of  the  bay  itself,  the  merits  of  which  as  a 
port  remained  unknown. 

By  the  middle  of  the  year  1773  Bucarely  had  become  sufficiently 
well  informed  to  commence  a  series  of  measures,  of  which  the 
founding  of  San  Francisco  formed  a  part,  all  based  upon  the  single 
idea  of  precaution  against  possibility  of  foreign  attack  upon  the 
Pacific  coast  of  New  Spain,  particularly  by  Russia,  of  whose 
activities  in  the  far  northwest  greatly  exaggerated  reports  had 
been  received.  No  attempt  can  be  made  here  to  trace  the  course 
of  these  measures,  except  those  directly  affecting  San  Francisco, 
but  it  would  give  a  false  perspective  to  the  subject  in  hand,  if 
they  were  passed  by  without  mention.  The  following  are  the 
measures  referred  to : 

On  July  23,  1773,  a  provisional  reglamento,  or  instrument  of 
government,  for  the  two  Californias,2  to  which  Bucarely  had 
devoted  considerable  attention  for  several  months,  received 
official  sanction  by  his  decree.  It  was  supplemented  on  August 
17  by  instructions  to  Fernando  Rivera,  who  was  to  lead  some 
soldier-settlers  up  Baja  California  to  Monterey,  and  succeed 
Fages  in  command  of  the  new  establishments. 

On  September  13  an  expedition  under  Juan  Bautista  de  Anza 
was  authorized  to  seek  an  overland  route  from  Sonora  to  Mon¬ 
terey,  the  land  route  to  California  never  having  been  traversed 
by  Spaniards.  The  expedition  started  in  January,  1774,  achieved 
its  purpose,  and  returned  to  Sonora  in  May. 

From  December,  1773,  to  March,  1774,  Agustln  Crame  was 
employed  upon  an  exploration  of  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec 

1  A.  G.  de  I.,  103-6-16. 

2  To  wit,  what  is  now  American  California  and  Baja  California  of  Mexico. 
These  were  nominally  one  government  under  Spain,  though  in  fact  under  separate 
rule. 


376 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


to  see  if  a  suitable  route  for  transportation  of  artillery  might  be 
found.  Crame  reported  the  finding  of  such  a  route. 

More  insistent  reports  of  Russian  aggression  having  been  re¬ 
ceived  in  July,  1773,  a  voyage  of  exploration  under  Juan  Perez 
to  the  far  northwest  was  soon  decided  upon.  Perez  left  San  Bias 
in  January,  1774,  got  to  about  55°  without  seeing  any  Russians, 
but  also  without  satisfactorily  examining  the  coast,  and  reached 
San  Bias  again  in  November. 

Another  voyage  was  at  once  prepared,  and  was  able  to  leave 
port  in  March,  1775.  One  ship  under  Heceta  got  to  about  49° 
and  the  other  under  Bodega  to  58°.  A  somewhat  better  explora¬ 
tion  of  the  coast  was  made  than  on  the  previous  voyage,  but  again 
no  Russians  were  found.  By  November  both  ships  were  back  at 
San  Bias. 

A  second  Anza  expedition  was  authorized  in  November,  1774, 
to  go  by  the  newly-discovered  overland  route  to  California.  Not 
only  were  settlers  for  San  Francisco  to  form  part  of  the  expedi¬ 
tion,  but  domestic  animals  were  also  to  be  taken  along,  there 
being  great  need  of  them  in  California  in  order  to  ensure  perma¬ 
nence  of  the  settlements.  Anza  left  Sonora  in  October,  1775, 
and  reached  Monterey  in  March,  1776. 

In  addition  to  these  outstanding  events  there  were  many  others 
related  to  the  same  idea  of  precaution  against  foreign  attack, 
such  as  the  sending  of  supply-ships  to  California  (a  vital  matter), 
measures  for  internal  development  of  the  province  and  extension 
of  religious  conquest,  plans  for  closing  the  gap  between  Sonora 
and  California  with  missions  and  presidios,  an  attempt  to  find 
a  route  from  New  Mexico  to  California  in  1776,  preparations  for 
a  new  series  of  voyages,  and  even  reduction  of  the  warlike  In¬ 
dians  of  the  interior  provinces.  A  number  of  Bucarely’s  letters 
might  be  cited  both  from  his  official  correspondence  with  Arriaga 
and  Galvez,  and  from  private  correspondence  with  General  Ale¬ 
jandro  O’Reilly,  to  prove  that  these  measures  were  part  of  an  uni¬ 
form  plan  to  forestall  foreign  aggression,  especially  by  the  Russians.1 

1  In  a  letter  to  G&lvez  of  June  26,  1776  (Arch.  Gen.  y  Ptib.,  Cor.  Vir.,  series  I, 
vol.  12,  No.  2296),  Bucarely  mentions  no  less  than  forty-seven  other  letters  bearing 
upon  measures  taken  as  against  the  Russian  danger,  the  same  measures  as  those 
referred  to  above.  Nor  were  these  all  that  he  might  have  included  ;  for  example, 
his  letter  No.  1562  (A.  G.  de  I.,  Estado,  Aud.  Mex.,  1,  Doc.  10),  though  not  in¬ 
cluded  in  the  list  just  mentioned  is  decidedly  in  point.  The  O’Reilly  corre- 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 


377 


We  may  now  proceed  with  measures  looking  to  the  foundation  of 
San  Francisco  in  part  fulfillment  of  the  plan. 

The  instruction  to  Rivera,  the  newly-appointed  commandant 
of  California,  August  17,  1773,  called  upon  him  to  make  an  early 
exploration  of  the  port  of  San  Francisco,  if  further  examination 
were  necessary,  and  to  consult  with  Father  Serra  about  the  found¬ 
ing  of  a  mission  there.1  Plans  soon  developed  for  two  missions  at 
San  Francisco,  under  protection  of  a  military  colony.  Serra  had 
asked  for  a  number  of  new  missions  elsewhere  in  California.  Writ¬ 
ing  to  Arriaga,  May  27,  1774,  Bucarely  announced  himself  as 
favorable,  but  the  two  at  San  Francisco  should  first  be  established, 
and  a  fresh  exploration  of  the  port  be  made.2  In  another  letter  of 
the  same  date  he  expressed  a  hope  that  the  Anza  and  Rivera  expe¬ 
ditions,  which  at  last  accounts  were  on  the  way  respectively 
from  Sonora  and  Baja  California  to  California,  might  meet.  In 
that  case  there  would  be  men  enough  for  exploration  of  San  Fran¬ 
cisco  and  establishment  of  one  or  more  missions  there.  He  was 
hoping  to  hear  that  it  had  been  done.3  Two  days  before,  he  had 
written  to  Father  Palou  of  California  to  the  same  effect,  and 
asked  for  detailed  information  of  everything  tending  to  such  a 
result.4  Anza  left  California,  however,  before  Rivera  got  there ; 
so  the  projected  occupation  of  San  Francisco  was  for  the  time 
delayed. 

With  the  success  of  Anza’s  first  expedition  Bucarely  began 
to  plan  another,  even  before  he  learned  of  Anza’s  return.  One 
of  the  objects  of  the  new  expedition,  he  wrote  to  Arriaga,  Sep¬ 
tember  28,  1774,  was  to  bring  about  occupation  of  San  Francisco.5 
In  a  letter  dated  September  26,  he  wrote  of  Rivera’s  proposed 
transfer  of  the  presidio  of  Monterey  to  another  site  away  from 
the  coast.  Bucarely  was  inclined  to  favor  the  plan,  assigning 
as  one  of  his  reasons  the  greater  nearness  of  the  new  site  to  San 
Francisco.6  Bucarely  was  also  planning  a  sea  expedition  under 

spondence  is  in  A.  G.  de  I.,  88-5-17,  comprising  most  of  the  legajo.  Bucarely 
was  in  the  habit  of  writing  once  a  month  to  O’Reilly,  and  several  of  his  letters  refer 
to  the  acts  noticed  above  as  having  been  done  by  way  of  precaution  against  the 
Russians 

1  A.  g’.  de  I.,  104-6-16.  2  Ibid.,  104-6-15.  3  Ibid. 

4  Bucarely  to  Palou,  May  25,  1774,  in  Palou,  Noticias  (San  Francisco,  1874), 
pp.  254-257. 

6  A.  G.  de  I.,  Estado,  Aud.  Mex.,  1,  Doc.  10. 

*  A.  G.  de  I.,  104-6-17. 


378 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Miguel  Manrique  for  exploration  of  the  port.  Manrique’s  ship, 
wrote  Bucarely,  November  26,  1774,  was  to  leave  San  Bias 
early  in  1775,  going  as  far  as  California  with  the  boats  to  be 
employed  in  northwestward  explorations,  and  entering  San 
Francisco  Bay.  “I  regard  the  occupation  of  this  port  as  indis¬ 
pensable,”  continued  Bucarely,  “and  to  facilitate  it  I  intend  that 
Anza,  who  is  now  at  this  capital,  shall  return  to  Sonora  and  make 
a  second  expedition.”  1 

All  of  Bucarely’s  measures,  except  the  proposed  transfer  of 
Monterey,  were  approved  by  Arriaga.2  In  several  cases  the  latter 
had  referred  Bucarely’s  letters  to  Jose  de  Galvez,  whose  experi¬ 
ence  as  visitador  in  New  Spain,  when  he  had  caused  occupation  of 
California,  qualified  him  to  give  expert  advice.  In  one  of  Galvez’s 
replies,  written  March  8,  1774,  before  he  had  heard  of  the  first 
Anza  expedition,  the  former  visitador  recommended  that  com¬ 
munications  with  California  be  established  from  Sonora  and  New 
Mexico,  especially  with  Monterey  and  San  Francisco,  which  ought 
to  be  secured  at  all  costs.3 

Anza  got  to  Mexico  City  in  November,  1774.  During  that 
month  and  the  first  half  of  the  next  the  preliminary  arrangements 
for  his  new  expedition  were  made,  a  detailed  plan  of  its  composi¬ 
tion,  equipment,  and  objects  being  drawn  up,  and  necessary 
approval  by  the  authorities  of  the  viceroyalty  obtained.  The 
occupation  of  San  Francisco  being  one  of  the  principal  objects  of 
the  expedition,  that  matter  was  referred  to  many  times.  Perhaps 
it  will  be  enough  here,  however,  to  cite  Bucarely’s  letter  of  Decem¬ 
ber  27,  telling  what  he  had  done  to  bring  about  establishment  of 
more  missions  in  California,  especially  two  at  San  Francisco. 
Recognizing  the  importance  of  furthering  the  conquest  in  that 
province,  he  had  planned  a  second  expedition  from  Sonora  to 
California  under  Anza,  the  latter  to  take  as  many  soldiers  as 
necessary  for  escort  of  the  San  Francisco  missions,  and  to  erect 
a  monument  there  to  indicate  that  the  land  belonged  to  Spain. 
The  expedition  had  just  been  authorized.  Anza  was  to  recruit 

1  A.  G.  de  I.,  Estado,  Aud.  Mex.,  1,  Doc.  11. 

2  Arriaga  to  Bucarely,  September  22,  1774.  A.  G.  de  I.,  104-6-15.  Same  to 
same,  May  14,  1775.  A.  G.  de  I.,  104-6-17.  This  letter  also  disapproved  the 
transfer  of  Monterey.  A  positive  command  against  removal  appears  in  Galvez 
to  Bucarely,  April  10,  1776,  A.  G.  de  I.,  104-6-17. 

3  Ibid.,  104-6-16. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 


379 


thirty  persons,  aiming  to  get  married  people,  and  take  them,  their 
wives,  and  children  to  the  port  of  San  Francisco,  with  a  view  to 
founding  a  goodly  colony  there,  not  only  to  guard  that  place, 
but  also  to  serve  as  a  base  for  future  settlements.  Others  were  to 
go  with  the  expedition,  but  only  the  thirty  families  were  destined 
for  San  Francisco.  Erection  of  the  missions  had  been  assigned 
to  Serra,  and  instructions  had  been  given  to  Rivera  requiring  him 
to  lend  aid.  Then  followed  details  about  expense,  much  of  which 
had  to  come  from  the  royal  treasury.  The  missionaries  were  to 
be  found  among  the  supernumerary  religious  in  California.1 
Another  letter  of  December  27  apprised  Arriaga  of  plans  for  the 
1775  voyages  of  exploration.  Not  only  was  Manrique  to  explore 
San  Francisco  Bay,  but.  Heceta  had  also  been  ordered  to  do 
so,  upon  his  return  from  the  north.  At  that  time  it  was  possible 
that  Anza’s  troops  might  already  have  arrived.2  Arriaga’s  ap¬ 
provals  for  these  measures  were  as  usual  forthcoming.3 

Appropriate  orders  having  been  given  to  Anza,  corresponding 
instructions  were  sent  to  Rivera  and  Serra.  On  December  15, 
1774,  Bucarely  informed  Rivera  of  the  projected  Anza  expedition. 
For  use  of  Anza’s  settlers  he  was  sending  by  ,  sea  an  extra  stock  of 
provisions,  which  were  on  no  account  to  be  diverted  to  any  other 
use.  The  troops  brought  by  Anza  were  to  be  under  Rivera’s 
command  from  the  moment  they  reached  Monterey,  although 
Anza  was  to  assist  in  the  exploration  of  the  river  emptying  into 
San  Francisco  Bay.  Not  only  were  there  to  be  two  missions  at 
San  Francisco,  but  also  a  presidio  between  them  and  near  the 
coast,  to  aid  them  the  more  readily  in  case  their  escort  of  six 
soldiers  each  should  not  suffice.4  There  was  much  in  this  letter 
concerning  the  reasons  for  desiring  settlements  at  San  Francisco, 
such  as  its  importance  for  future  conquests,  and  the  relations  of 
Rivera  and  Serra  in  regard  to  the  foundation,  but  these  remarks 
add  nothing  to  what  has  already  been  ascribed  to  Bucarely  in  other 
references  to  his  correspondence.  A  letter  in  almost  identical 
terms  was  addressed  to  Serra  on  the  same  day.5  Another  letter 

1  A.  G.  de  I.,  104-6-16. 

2  Ibid.,  Estado,  Aud.  Mex.,  1,  Doc.  13. 

3  Arriaga  to  Bucarely,  May  15,  1775,  A.  G.  de  I.,  104-6-16.  Same  to  game, 
June  23,  1775,  A.  G.  de  I.,  Estado,  Aud.  Mex.,  1,  Doc.  13. 

*  Acad.  Pac.  Coast  Hist.,  Prov.  St.  Papers,  Ben.  Mis.,  vol.  2,  pp.  20-25. 

‘  Acad.  Pac.  Coast  Hist.,  Arch.  Mis.,  vol.  1,  pp.  49-56. 


380 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


to  Rivera,  January  2,  1775,  repeated  directions  as  to  location  of 
the  fort,  and  ordered  that  a  separate  account  be  kept  of  expense 
incurred  in  occupying  San  Francisco.1 

Serra  clearly  was  ready  to  support  the  project  for  missions  at 
San  Francisco.  On  September  9,  1774,  he  wrote  to  Bucarely  com¬ 
plaining  of  Perez,  who  had  just  returned  from  his  voyage  to  the 
northwest,  and  Rivera  for  not  helping  to  found  the  two  missions 
at  once.  Perez  insisted  on  returning  to  San  Bias,  after  an  earlier 
promise  to  lend  his  aid,  and  Rivera  claimed  that  he  did  not  have 
troops  enough.2 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  Rivera’s  caution  was  justified.  In  all 
California  between  San  Diego  and  Monterey  there  were  but  eighty 
soldiers  in  two  presidios  and  five  missions,  holding  in  check  many 
thousands  of  Indians.  That  these  Indians  were  not  as  docile  as 
commonly  supposed,  is  amply  proved  by  two  very  remarkable 
documents  that  may  be  referred  to  in  passing.  One  is  a  memorial 
by  Pedro  Fages  dated  at  Mexico,  November  30,  1775, 3  and  the 
other  an  account  by  the  religious  of  the  College  of  San  Fernando, 
Mexico,  February  26,  1776,  of  discoveries  from  1769  to  1776 
between  30°  26/  and  57°  IS7.4 * *  Both  discuss  at  great  length  the 
affairs  of  California,  the  Fages  report  being  particularly  devoted 
to  characterization  of  the  Indians.  Both  documents  show  clearly 
that  it  was  only  by  military  force,  small  as  were  Spanish  numbers, 
that  the  province  was  held  at  all. 

The  families  originally  recruited  by  Rivera  for  California  did 
not  reach  San  Diego  until  September  26,  1774,  several  months 
after  the  arrival  of  their  commander  and  after  the  date  of  Serra’s 
letter  of  complaint  just  quoted.  Rivera  now  felt  strong  enough 
to  attempt  the  oft-enjoined  exploration  of  San  Francisco’s  port. 
He  headed  a  party  which  left  Monterey  on  November  23.  The 
expedition  got  within  the  limits  of  the  modern  city  of  San  Fran¬ 
cisco,  planting  a  cross  on  the  hill  overlooking  the  Seal  Rocks,  but 

1  Acad.  Pac.  Coast  Hist.,  Prov.  St.  Papers,  vol.  1,  pp.  166-167. 

2  A.  G.  de  I.,  Estado,  Aud.  Guad.,  1,  Doc.  9.  Both  the  Spanish  and  a  trans¬ 
lation  to  English  appear  in  Historical  Society  of  Southern  California,  Publications, 
vol.  2,  pp.  73-80. 

2  A.  G.  de  I.,  104-6-17. 

4  Ibid.  Both  the  Fages  and  the  San  Fernando  documents  are  considered  in  Chap¬ 

man,  Importance  of  the  military  in  early  Spanish  settlements  of  California,  in  the 

Grizzly  Bear  Magazine  of  Los  Angeles  for  December,  1915. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 


381 


encountered  the  early  winter  rains,  and  returned  to  Monterey 
without  having  accomplished  anything,  arriving  December  13.1 
Commenting  upon  the  expedition  in  a  letter  to  Bucarely,  January 
8,  1775,  Serra  showed  less  enthusiasm  than  before  for  the  San 
Francisco  missions,  but  it  was  only  because  he  wanted  four  others 
to  complete  the  chain  between  San  Diego  and  Monterey,  with  a 
corresponding  increase  in  the  military  establishment.2 

Upon  hearing  of  the  Rivera  expedition  Bucarely  wrote  to 
Rivera  3  and  Serra,4  both  letters  being  dated  May  24,  1775,  and 
substantially  the  same  in  content.  He  realized  that  the  Rivera 
expedition  of  the  preceding  November  had  come  at  a  bad  time 
of  year  for  establishment  of  missions,  but  wished  Rivera  to  con¬ 
tinue  his  efforts  to  find  sites  for  them.  It  would  be  well  to  found 
the  missions  that  Serra  had  asked  for,  but  establishment  of  the 
fort  and  two  missions  at  San  Francisco  was  the  most  important 
consideration.  Both  men  were  bidden  to  act  in  harmony  with 
each  other.  Bucarely’s  letter  to  Arriaga,  May  27,  1775,  was  of 
much  the  same  tenor.  Anza  and  Ayala  had  been  given  orders  to 
occupy  San  Francisco,  he  said.5 

Ayala  had  succeeded  Manrique  in  command  of  the  San  Carlos, 
destined  to  explore  San  Francisco  Bay,  Manrique  having  become 
insane.6  The  San  Carlos  left  San  Bias  on  March  16, 7  proceeded 
to  California,  and  was  in  San  Francisco  Bay  all  of  August  and  most 
of  September,  1775.  Ayala  found  that  there  was  a  practicable 
entrance,  and  as  he  reported,  not  merely  one  port  within,  but 
many.  Rivera  had  been  ordered  to  cooperate  with  a  land  expedi¬ 
tion,  and  the  two  were  to  erect  buildings  for  the  settlers  that  were 
to  come  with  Anza,  but  as  some  of  Rivera’s  soldiers  were  tempo¬ 
rarily  absent,  he  was  unwilling  to  draw  more  from  his  presidio, 
and  remained  at  Monterey.  Meanwhile,  Heceta,  returning  from 
the  north,  missed  the  entrance  to  San  Francisco  Bay,  and  went 
on  to  Monterey.  Rivera’s  garrison  was  by  that  time  at  its  full 

1  For  both  the  Rivera  and  Palou  diaries,  A.  G.  de  I.,  104-6-16.  The  latter  is 
also  in  Palou,  Noticias  (San  Francisco,  1874),  vol.  3,  pp.  264-315. 

1  A.  G.  de  I.,  104-6-16. 

8  Acad.  Pac.  Coast  Hist.,  Prov.  St.  Papers,  vol.  1,  pp.  171-174. 

*  Mus.  Nac.,  Docs.  Rel.  Mis.  Cal.,  Octavo  Series. 

1  A.  G.  de  I.,  104-6-16. 

•  Bucarely  to  Arriaga,  March  27,  1775,  A.  G.  de  I.,  Estado,  Aud.  Mex.,  1,  Doc. 

16. 

7  A.  G.  de  I.,  Estado,  Aud.  Mex.,  1,  Doc.  15. 


382 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


strength.  Heceta,  therefore,  procured  troops,  and  made  an  over¬ 
land  trip  to  San  Francisco  and  back.  He  reached  San  Francisco 
just  after  Ayala’s  departure,  and  remained  but  two  days  before 
returning.  The  trip  had  occupied  from  September  14  to  Octo¬ 
ber  1.  Neither  the  buildings  for  Anza’s  settlers  nor  the  missions 
had  been  erected,  but  there  was  no  longer  any  doubt  of  the  value 
of  the  port. 

Ayala  brought  news  of  these  events  to  the  viceroy,  reaching  San 
Bias,  November  6,  1775.  On  the  9th  he  wrote  to  Bucarely  about 
his  exploration  of  San  Francisco  Bay,  saying  that  it  was  the  best 
port  that  he  had  seen  from  Cape  Horn  north.1  Bucarely  also 
received  a  report  and  description  of  the  bay  of  date  September  7, 
1775,  by  Canizares,  Ayala’s  pilot.2  In  forwarding  copies  of  these 
two  documents  to  Arriaga,  November  26,  1775,  Bucarely  spoke 
with  satisfaction  of  the  peaceful  character  of  the  Indians  at  San 
Francisco,  the  excellence  of  its  port,  and  the  adaptability  of  the  site 
for  settlement.  There  was  plenty  of  fresh  water,  firewood,  and 
stone,  and  the  climate  was  cold,  but  healthful,  and  free  from  the 
fogs  that  Monterey  experienced.3 

As  already  noted,  Rivera  had  failed  to  cooperate  with  Ayala 
in  his  exploration.  It  is  doubtful  if  he  would  have,  even  had  all 
his  soldiers  been  present.  At  any  rate,  he  wrote  to  Bucarely, 
August  8,  1775,  shortly  after  Ayala’s  departure  for  San  Francisco, 
that  he  intended  to  postpone  exploration  there  until  Anza’s 
arrival,  when  he  would  erect  the  fort  and  two  missions.  At  the 
fort  he  intended  to  install  two  of  the  cannon  then  at  Monterey. 
Bucarely  replied  January  20,  1776.  At  that  late  date  there 
was  nothing  to  do  but  to  approve.4  We  may  now  turn  our 
attention  to  the  second  Anza  expedition,  from  which  so  much 
was  expected. 

The  details  of  the  expedition  itself  may  be  referred  to  briefly. 
As  the  expedition  left  Horcasitas  it  contained  238  persons.  Anza 
was  to  make  a  very  remarkable  march  indeed,  for  this  large  party, 
travelling  on  a  route  which  led  across  the  Colorado  Desert,  had 
actually  increased  in  number  by  the  time  it  reached  California. 

1  A.  G.  de  I.,  Estado,  Aud.  Mex.,  1,  Doc.  19.  2  Ibid. 

1  Ibid.  Later  experience  would  hardly  sustain  the  viceroy  as  regards  the  fogs. 

4  Acad.  Pac.  Coast  Hist.,  Prov.  St.  Papers,  vol.  1,  pp.  193-194. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 


383 


Eight  children  were  born  during  the  inarch.  Only  one  death 
occurred,  and  that  at  the  outset,  —  a  woman  in  child-birth.  The 
most  significant  part  of  the  force  was  the  thirty  soldiers  and  their 
families  intended  as  a  garrison  for  San  Francisco.  Over  a  thou¬ 
sand  domestic  animals  were  taken  along,  about  a  third  of  them 
being  for  the  new  colony  of  San  Francisco.  All  equipment  was 
at  government  expense,  from  a  horse  or  a  gun  to  a  piece  of  ribbon. 
Each  family  of  settlers  was  to  get  pay  for  two  years  and  rations 
for  five,  involving  an  expense  of  about  $800  a  family,  —  high  evi¬ 
dence  of  the  importance  of  the  colony,  when  one  considers  how 
scantily  Spain  dealt  out  funds  for  her  colonies,  if  the  return  were 
not  to  be  immediate  or  certain. 

The  expedition  left  Horcasitas,  Sonora,  on  September  29,  1775, 
but  was  not  fairly  under  way  until  October  23,  when  it  left  Tubac. 
On  November  28  it  had  reached  the  junction  of  the  Gila  and 
Colorado  rivers,  and  on  January  4,  1776,  was  at  San  Gabriel  mis¬ 
sion,  near  the  modern  Los  Angeles. 

A  considerable  delay  now  occurred  owing  to  an  Indian  outbreak 
at  San  Diego,  which  Anza’s  presence  helped  to  quell,  although  he 
was  not  obliged  to  strike  a  blow.1  The  revolt  affected  the  founda¬ 
tion  of  San  Francisco,  for  Rivera  was  now  unwilling  to  cooperate 
to  that  end,  feeling  that  troops  could  not  be  spared.  Anza 
was  eager  to  fulfill  his  orders,  however,  and  relations  between 
the  two  officers  got  to  be  far  from  cordial.  Anza,  therefore,  pro¬ 
ceeded  alone  to  Monterey,  arriving  March  10.  Between  March  23 
and  April  8  he  led  a  party  which  made  a  thorough  examination 
of  the  site  of  San  Francisco,  and  proceeded  around  the  bay  through 
present-day  Oakland  and  Berkeley  to  the  San  Joaquin  River 
before  turning  back.  His  examination  of  San  Francisco  had 
proved  it  to  be  a  very  satisfactory  site,  but  no  buildings  had  been 
erected,  and  the  settlers  remained  at  Monterey.  He  himself 
soon  returned  to  Mexico. 

Bucarely  expressed  himself  as  much  displeased,  when  he  learned 
that  the  foundation  of  San  Francisco  had  not  taken  place.  The 
failure  had  been  caused,  he  said,  in  a  letter  to  Galvez,  August  27, 
1776,  by  Rivera,  due  to  his  belief  in  the  greater  importance  of  the 
San  Diego  affair,  nor  did  Bucarely  hold  Anza  entirely  blameless. 

1  Bucarely  to  Arriaga,  March  27,  1776,  A.  G.  de  I.,  104-6-17. 


384 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


He  had  written  to  both,  telling  them  that  they  had  acted  improp¬ 
erly  in  not  making  the  San  Francisco  establishments.  Governor 
Neve  of  Baja  California,  who  previously  had  been  ordered  to 
change  places  with  Rivera,  was  going  there  in  good  time,  thought 
Bucarely.  Bucarely  had  told  him  how  annoyed  he  was  by  the 
dissension  between  Anza  and  Rivera,  which  had  caused  a  partial 
failure  of  his  plans,  and  had  charged  him  that  the  foundation  of 
San  Francisco  was  to  be  preferred  to  all  else.1 

Rivera  had  refused  to  cooperate  with  Anza  in  establishing  the 
new  colony,  but  later  took  steps  to  bring  about  the  foundation. 
While  in  San  Diego  on  May  8  he  sent  an  order  to  Jose  Moraga,  an 
officer  and  settler  who  had  come  with  Anza,  to  proceed  to  San 
Francisco  and  erect  a  fort.  Moraga’s  force,  including  the  settlers 
and  their  families  and  Fathers  Palou  and  Cambon,  proceeded  to 
San  Francisco,  and  reached  there  on  June  27.  They  passed  the 
first  “Fourth  of  July”  there,  unaware  how  near  they  had  come  to 
selecting  a  resounding  date  for  their  arrival.  Meanwhile,  the 
work  of  erecting  buildings  went  on,  and  on  September  17,  1776,  a 
formal  ceremony  took  place  to  indicate  that  the  presidio  of  San 
Francisco  had  begun  its  official  existence.  On  October  9  there 
was  another  solemn  function,  this  time  to  signalize  the  founding  of 
the  mission  San  Francisco  de  Asfs,  now  more  commonly  called 
Mission  Dolores. 

It  was  not  for  several  months  that  news  got  to  Mexico  of  the 
foundation  of  San  Francisco.  Meanwhile,  Bucarely’s  letters 
made  frequent  references  to  the  northern  port.  On  July  27, 
1776,  Bucarely  wrote  to  Galvez  of  measures  taken  in  view  of  the 
gradual  filling  in  of  the  port  of  San  Bias.  The  nearby  ports  of 
Chacala  and  Matanchel  were  better  than  San  Bias,  but  he  was  not 
in  favor  of  immediate  removal.  If  voyages  of  discovery  were  to 
be  continued,  either  Trinidad,  Guatemala,  or  San  Francisco, 
California,  would  be  a  better  location  for  a  marine  department.2 
Galvez’s  reply,  January  9,  1777,  is  interesting.  Continue  the 
department  at  San  Bias,  he  said,  until  that  port  becomes  wholly 
useless;  then  move  it  temporarily  to  Acapulco;  finally,  let  it 
be  established  in  some  good  port  of  California.3  In  a  letter  of 

1  A.  G.  de  I.,  104-6-17.  G&lvez  had  succeeded  Arriaga  in  January,  upon  the 
death  of  the  latter. 

2  Ibid.,  104-5-24. 


*  Ibid. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 


385 


August  27,  1776,  Bucarely  told  of  ordering  some  domestic  animals 
sent  from  certain  Baja  California  missions  to  California.  Neve 
was  to  distribute  them  as  he  saw  fit,  giving  San  Francisco  the 
preference,  however.1  At  length,  news  of  the  founding  of  San 
Francisco  reached  the  viceroy,  and  details  of  the  event  were 
recounted  by  him  in  a  letter  of  November  26,  1776,  to  Galvez.2 

Three  of  Bucarelv’s  letters  to  Galvez  of  December  27,  1776, 
contain  references  to  San  Francisco  that  may  be  worthy  of  record. 
Boats  were  so  few  on  the  Pacific  that  there  was  grave  question  for 
a  time  whether  enough  supplies  could  be  sent  to  California  for 
the  year  1777.  Bucarely  had  decided  to  send  them  first  to  San 
Francisco,  preferring  that  to  San  Diego,  both  because  it  was  new, 
and  because  there  were  more  soldiers  and  settlers  there.3  Another 
letter  announced  the  return  of  the  San  Carlos  from  San  Francisco, 
bringing  news  of  the  rapid  progress  of  this  place.4  Great  as 
had  been  that  progress,  wrote  Bucarely  in  a  third  letter,  he  was 
taking  no  chance  of  a  possible  decline.  A  surgeon,  carpenter, 
mason,  and  smith  were  being  sought  in  Mexico  City  to  send  there, 
and  a  quantity  of  clothing,  tools,  and  other  utensils  and  effects, 
especially  those  for  agricultural  uses,  were  being  sent  to  San  Bias 
by  forced  marches  for  shipment  to  San  Francisco.  News  had 
come  that  provisions  were  short  there,  wherefore  Bucarely  had 
ordered  the  Santiago  to  sail  direct  for  that  port,  without  the  usual 
previous  stops  at  San  Diego  and  Monterey.5 

One  more  document  may  be  cited,  Bucarely ’s  instruction  of 
December  25,  1776,  to  Felipe  Neve  for  his  guidance  as  governor  of 
California.  San  Francisco  is  mentioned  a  number  of  times  in 
this  document.  The  information  embodied  in  Bucarely’s  last- 
quoted  letter  appears  also  in  the  instructions.  Besides,  there 
were  paragraphs  concerning  promised  shipments  of  church  uten¬ 
sils,  another  about  adding  to  the  buildings  at  San  Francisco, 
another  about  appointment  of  a  more  competent  store-keeper 
than  Hermenegildo  Sal,  the  incumbent,  and  another  stating  that 
a  second  mission  ought  to  be  erected.6 

Thus  we  have  seen  how  prominent  a  place  the  foundation  and 
progress  of  San  Francisco  occupied  in  the  viceroy’s  eyes.  Nor 

1  A.  G.  de  I.,  104-6-18. 

2  Ibid. 

2  c 


3  Ibid. 
*  Ibid. 


3  Ibid. 
•  Ibid. 


3S6 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


was  it  confined  to  him ;  with  the  single  exception  of  the  proposed 
removal  of  Monterey,  his  superiors  in  Spain  sustained  him  in 
every  project  that  he  advanced  of  those  mentioned  in  this  paper.1 
Much  had  been  due,  however,  to  the  eager  insistence  of  the  viceroy 
himself.  With  the  opening  of  the  year  1777  a  new  hand  was  to 
direct  the  affairs  of  California,  that  province  having  been  included 
in  the  new  government  of  the  frontier  provinces  under  the  ineffi¬ 
cient  Teodoro  de  Croix.  Thus,  though  California  had  in  Neve 
perhaps  its  most  able  Spanish  governor,  projects  of  conquest  de¬ 
clined,  and  advancement  of  San  Francisco  got  little  attention. 
It  had  been  otherwise  under  Bucarely.  When  the  great  city  by 
the  Golden  Gate  shall  cast  about  for  an  early  hero,  let  her  consider 
the  great  viceroy,  Bucarely,  for  to  him  more  than  to  any  one  else 
is  due  the  foundation  of  San  Francisco  and  preservation  of  the 
settlement  in  its  time  of  precarious  beginnings. 

1  The  following  approvals  not  already  referred  to,  may  be  noted,  all  citations 
being  to  A.  G.  de  I.:  By  Arriaga,  September  6,  1775,  104—6-16;  July  8,  1775, 
Estado,  Aud.  Mex.,  1,  Doc.  16 ;  by  G&lvez,  December  24,  1776,  104-6-17 ;  Jan¬ 
uary  9,  Feburary  18,  and  two  of  Maroh  19,  1777,  all  four  in  104-6-18. 


NEW  MEXICO  AND  ARIZONA 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  NEW  MEXICO,  1749-1752 


Herbert  E.  Bolton 

Early  in  the  eighteenth  century  French  voyageurs,  chasseurs, 
and  traders  of  Louisiana  and  Canada  looked  with  covetous  eyes 
toward  New  Mexico.  To  the  adventurer  it  was  a  land  promising 
gold  and  silver  and  a  path  to  the  South  Sea ;  to  the  merchant  it 
offered  rich  profits  in  trade.  The  three  natural  avenues  of  ap¬ 
proach  to  this  Promised  Land  were  the  Missouri,  Arkansas,  and 
Red  rivers.  But  there  were  two  obstacles  to  expeditions  bound 
for  New  Mexico.  One  was  the  jealous  and  exclusive  policy  of 
Spain  which  made  the  reception  of  such  Frenchmen  as  might 
reach  Santa  Fe  a  matter  of  uncertainty ;  the  other  was  the  Indian 
tribes  which  stood  in  the  way.  The  Red  River  highway  was 
effectually  blocked  by  the  Apache,  mortal  enemies  of  all  the 
tribes  along  the  lower  valley;  the  Arkansas  and  Missouri  River 
avenues  were  impeded  by  the  Comanche  for  analogous  reasons. 
It  was  not  so  much  that  the  Apache  and  Comanche  were  averse 
to  the  entrance  of  French  traders,  as  that  the  jealous  enemies  of 
these  tribes  opposed  the  passage  of  the  traders  to  their  foes  with 
supplies  of  weapons.  It  is  a  matter  of  interest  that  in  the  nine¬ 
teenth  century  the  American  pioneers  found  almost  identical  con¬ 
ditions  in  the  same  region. 

As  the  fur  traders  and  official  explorers  pushed  rapidly  west, 
one  of  their  constant  aims  was  to  open  the  way  to  New  Mexico 
by  effecting  peace  between  the  Comanche  and  the  tribes  further 
east.  In  1718-1719  La  Harpe  ascended  the  Red  River  and  es¬ 
tablished  the  Cadodacho  post ;  Du  Rivage  went  seventy  leagues 
further  up  the  Red  River;  and  La  Harpe  crossed  over  to  the 
Touacara  villages  on  the  lower  Canadian.  At  the  same  time 
DuTisne  reached  the  Panipiquet,  or  Jumano,  villages  on  the 
Arkansas,  north  of  the  Oklahoma  line.  Finding  further  advance 
2d  389 


390 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


cut  off  by  the  hostility  of  the  Jumano  for  the  Comanche,  he  tried, 
but  without  avail,  to  effect  a  treaty  between  the  tribes.1  Two 
years  later  La  Harpe  reestablished  the  Arkansas  post,  ascended 
the  river  half  way  to  the  Canadian,  and  urged  a  post  among  the 
Touacara,  as  a  base  for  advance  to  New  Mexico.2  In  1723  Bourg- 
mont  erected  a  post  among  the  Missouri  tribe  to  protect  the  fur 
traders  there,  to  check  an  advance  by  the  Spaniards  such  as  had 
been  threatened  by  the  Villazur  expedition  in  1720,  and  as  a  base 
for  commerce  with  New  Mexico.  To  open  the  way  thither  he 
led  Missouri,  Kansas,  Oto,  and  Iowa  chiefs  to  the  Padoucah 
(Comanche),  near  the  Colorado  border  of  Kansas,  effected  a 
treaty  between  them,  and  secured  permission  for  Frenchmen  to 
pass  through  the  Comanche  country  to  the  Spaniards.3 

Shortly  afterward  the  Missouri  post  was  destroyed  by  Indians, 
the  Missouri  valley  was  made  unsafe  for  a  number  of  years  by  the 
Fox  wars,  and  French  advance  westward  was  checked.  Although 
there  are  indications  that  in  the  interim  traders  kept  pushing  up 
the  Missouri,  the  next  well  known  attempt  to  reach  New  Mexico 
was  made  in  1739.  In  that  year  the  Mallet  party  of  eight  or  nine 
men  left  the  Missouri  River  at  the  Arikara  villages,  went  south 
to  the  Platte  River,  ascended  that  stream,  and  made  their  way 
through  the  Comanche  country  to  Taos  and  to  Santa  Fe.  After 
being  detained  several  months  in  friendly  captivity,  six  or  seven 
of  the  party  returned,  unharmed  by  the  Spanish  authorities,  and 
bearing  evidence  that  the  residents  of  New  Mexico  would  welcome 
trade.  Four  of  the  party  descended  the  Canadian  and  Arkan¬ 
sas  rivers,  the  others  going  northeast  to  the  Illinois. 

The  Mallet  party  had  succeeded  in  getting  through  the  Co¬ 
manche  country  to  New  Mexico  and  had  returned  in  safety  and 
with  good  prospects  for  trade  —  two  important  achievements. 
Immediately  there  was  renewed  interest  in  the  Spanish  border, 
on  the  part  of  both  government  officials  and  of  private  adven- 

1  Miss  Anne  Wendels,  a  graduate  student  at  the  University  of  California,  has 
clearly  shown  that  the  Panis  visited  by  DuTisnS  were  on  the  Arkansas  River  south¬ 
west  of  the  Osage,  and  that  DuTisnfe  did  not,  as  is  sometimes  stated,  pass  beyond 
to  the  Padoucah.  French  Interest  in  and  Activities  on  the  Spanish  Border  of  Louis- 
ana,  1717-1753 ,  Ms.  thesis. 

2  Miss  Wendels,  in  the  paper  cited  above,  has  made  a  most  careful  study  of  the 
routes  of  La  Harpe  on  this  and  his  former  expedition,  with  convincing  results. 

3  For  Bourgmont’s  route  I  follow  Miss  Wendels,  who  differs  somewhat  from 
Parkman,  Heinrich,  and  others. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  NEW  MEXICO,  1749-1752  391 


turers.  At  once,  in  1741,  Governor  Bienville  sent  Fabry  de  la 
Bruyere,  bearing  a  letter  to  the  governor  of  New  Mexico  and 
guided  by  four  members  of  the  Mallet  party,  with  instructions 
to  retrace  the  steps  of  the  latter,  open  up  a  commercial  route, 
and  explore  the  Far  West.1  Shortly  afterward  a  new  military  post, 
called  Fort  Cavagnolle,  was  established  on  the  Missouri  at  the 
Kansas  village,  and  the  Arkansas  route  was  made  safe  by  effecting 
in  1746  or  1747  a  treaty  between  the  Comanche  and  the  Jumano. 

The  effect  of  the  treaty  was  immediate,  and  at  once  there  were 
new  expeditions  to  New  Mexico  by  deserters,  private  traders,  and 
official  agents.  The  fact  that  they  occurred  has  only  recently 
come  to  light.  The  incidents  are  so  unknown  to  history,  and 
reveal  so  many  important  facts  concerning  the  New  Mexico- 
Louisiana  frontier,  that  they  deserve  narration,  and  have  therefore 
occasioned  this  paper.  Their  records  are  contained  in  two  expedi- 
entes  in  the  archives  of  Mexico,  discovered  by  the  present  writer.2 

Before  proceeding  to  the  narration  of  these  intrusions,  a  word 
further  must  be  said  regarding  the  position  of  the  Comanche  on 
the  Spanish  border.  At  that  time  the  tribe  roamed  over  the 
plains  between  the  upper  waters  of  the  Red  River  and  the  Platte, 
the  two  divisions  most  frequently  mentioned  being  the  Padoucah 
and  the  Laitane,  or  Naitane.  They  followed  the  buffalo  for  a 
living  and  had  large  droves  of  horses,  mules,  and  even  burros, 

1  Lettre  de  MM.  Bienville  et  Salmon ,  April  30,  1741,  in  Margry,  Decouvertes,  vol.  4, 
pp.  466-467 ;  Instructions  donnies  d  Fabry  de  la  Bruyere,  ibid.,  pp.  468—470;  Ex¬ 
trait  des  lettres  du  sieur  Fabry,  d  I’occasion  du  voyage  projetes  d  Santa  F6,  ibid., 
pp.  472-492;  Wendels,  French  Interests  and  Activities  on  the  Spanish  Border  of 
Louisiana,  1717-1753.  After  proceeding  a  short  distance  up  the  Canadian,  Fabry 
was  forced  through  lack  of  water  for  canoes  to  go  back  to  the  Arkansas  post  for 
horses.  Returning,  by  way  of  the  Cadodacho,  he  found  that  the  Mallet  brothers 
had  continued  toward  Santa  Fe,  on  foot.  Giving  up  the  project,  Fabry  crossed 
over  from  the  Canadian  to  the  Red  River,  where  he  visited  the  Tavakanas  and 
Kitsaiches  (Towakoni  and  Kichai),  two  of  the  tribes  which  La  Harpe  had  found  on 
the  Canadian  in  1719.  The  further  adventures  of  the  Mallets  have  not  come  to 
light,  but  it  is  known  that  in  1744  a  Frenchman  called  Santiago  Velo  reached  New 
Mexico.  He  was  secretly  despatched  to  Mexico  by  Governor  Codallos  y  Rabal. 
Twitched,  R.  E.,  The  Spanish  Archives  of  New  Mexico,  vol.  1,  p.  149. 

2  They  are  :  (1)  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar  que  rumbo  han  ttraido  ttres  franzeses 
que  llegaron  al  Pueblo  de  taos  con  la  Naz n  Cumanche  q  benian  a  hazer  sus  aconstum- 
brados  resgattes.  Juez,  El  S'  I)n  Thomas  Velez,  Gov0!  de  esta  Provincia.  Archivo 
General  y  Publico,  Mexico,  cited  hereafter  as  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar.  (2)  Testi- 
monio  de  los  Autos  fhos  a  Consulta  del  Gov0!  del  nuebo  Mex 00  sobre  haver  llegado  dos 
franzeses  cargados  de  efectos  que  conduzian  de  la  Nueba  Orleans.  Archivo  General 
y  Publico,  Mexico,  Provincias  Internas,  tomo  34.  These  expedientes  consist  of 
the  declarations  of  the  intruders,  correspondence  concerning  them,  documents 
confiscated  from  them,  and  records  of  proceedings  in  Mexico  regarding  them.  Ad¬ 
ditional  light  is  shed  by  some  documents  published  in  Twitchelf  s  Spanish  Archives 
of  New  Mexico,  vol.  1,  pp.  148-151. 


392 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


which  they  bought  or  stole  from  the  Spaniards.  In  order  the 
better  to  exploit  the  buffalo  and  find  pasturage,  they  lived  scat¬ 
tered  in  small  bands.  They  were  bitter  enemies  of  the  Apache 
tribes  living  to  the  south,1  and  until  shortly  before  had  been  hostile 
to  the  Jumano,  Pawnee,  and  most  of  the  other  tribes  to  the  east¬ 
ward.  Hemmed  in  by  this  wall  of  enemies,  they  had  had  little 
contact  with  the  French,  and  had  depended  mainly  upon  the 
Spaniards  of  New  Mexico  for  supplies.  Their  principal  trading 
mart  was  Taos,  where  each  spring  they  went  in  large  numbers  to 
attend  a  great  fair,  where  they  exchanged  peltry  and  captives  for 
horses,  knives,  and  other  merchandise.2  In  spite  of  this  trade 
with  the  Spaniards,  the  Comanche  were  overbearing,  and  often 
stole  horses  and  committed  other  depredations  in  the  settlements. 
During  the  quinquennium  of  Governor  Codallos  y  Rabat  (1744- 
1749)  they  several  times  attacked  Pecos  and  Galisteo,  killing  one 
hundred  and  fifty  residents  of  Pecos  alone.  In  view  of  this 
situation,  Governor  Velez,  the  successor  of  Codallos,  was  forced 
to  fortify  and  establish  garrisons  at  both  Pecos  and  Galisteo. 
Thus,  the  Comanche  situation  was  already  precarious  before  the 
peace  with  the  Jumano  and  the  coming  of  the  French  traders ; 
and  their  advent  made  it  worse.3 

One  of  the  trading  parties  which  followed  upon  the  Comanche 
alliance  with  the  Jumano  was  among  the  former  tribe  early  in  1748, 
but  we  know  little  of  the  history  of  the  expedition.  On  February 
27  of  that  year  seven  Comanches  from  a  village  on  the  Xicarilla 
River  entered  Taos  and  reported  that  thirty-three  Frenchmen 
had  come  to  their  settlement  and  traded  muskets  for  mules.  All 
but  two  had  gone  back,  but  the  two  were  waiting  at  the  village 
to  accompany  the  Comanche  to  the  Taos  fair.  In  consequence 
of  the  report  Governor  Codallos  wrote  the  viceroy  a  letter  in 
which  he  surmised  some  conspiracy  between  the  Comanche  and 
the  French,  recalled  the  destruction  of  the  Villazur  expedition 
in  1720  through  French  influence,  pointed  out  the  increased  danger 
from  the  Comanche  now  that  they  were  securing  firearms,  and 


1  Carlanes,  Palomas,  Chilpaines,  Pelonea,  Natag6s,  and  Faraones. 

5  Many  of  these  facts  concerning  the  Comanche  situation  are  gleaned  from  the 
two  expedientes  cited  above,  note  5. 

3  Governor  Tom&s  V61ez  Cachupin  to  the  viceroy,  Santa  Fe,  March  8,  1750,  in 
Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar,  fol.  31. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  MEXICO,  1749-1752  393 


proposed  a  military  post  on  the  Xicarilla  River,  the  avenue  of 
approach  for  both  the  Comanche  and  the  French.1 

So  far  as  we  know,  the  party  of  which  Codallos  wrote  did  not 
enter  the  New  Mexico  settlements,  but  this  is  not  true  of  one 
which  arrived  the  following  spring.  Near  the  end  of  his  term, 
early  in  1749,  Codallos  sent  his  lieutenant,  Bernardo  de  Bustamante 
y  Tagle,  to  attend  the  Taos  fair.  When  he  returned  to  Santa  Fe 
on  April  12  he  brought  with  him  three  Frenchmen  whom  the 
Comanche  had  conducted  to  the  fair  and  who  had  requested 
Bustamante  to  take  them  to  the  capital.2  The  new  governor, 
Tomas  Velez  Cachupfn,  had  the  strangers  promptly  lodged  in 
the  Palacio  de  Gobierno  and  duly  interrogated.  Since  they  did 
not  know  Spanish,  they  were  questioned  through  an  interpreter 
named  Pedro  Soutter,  who  was  “sufficiently  versed  in  the  French 
language.”  The  formal  interrogatorio  drawn  up  for  the  purpose 
contained  fifteen  points,  and  was  quite  typical  of  Spanish  adminis¬ 
trative  thoroughness.  It  asked  each  of  the  strangers  his  name, 
marital  status,  religion,  residence,  his  route  in  coming,  the  coun¬ 
try  and  tribes  passed  through,  the  names,  location,  and  condition 
of  the  French  settlements,  their  relations  with  the  Indians,  the 
extent  and  nature  of  the  fur  trade,  whether  the  French  had  mines, 
and  numerous  other  items  of  interest  to  the  frontier  Spanish 
authorities.3 

The  first  examination  of  the  three  strangers  took  place  on 
April  13,  another  being  held  subsequently.  Since  the  first  state¬ 
ments  were  in  some  respects  confused  and  indefinite,  due  in  part, 
it  was  claimed,  to  the  inefficiency  of  the  interpreter,  and  since 
much  new  light  is  shed  by  the  subsequent  depositions,  my  narra¬ 
tive  will  be  drawn  from  the  two  combined.4 


1  Antonio  Dur&n  de  Armijo  to  Governor  Codallos,  Taos,  February  27,  1748,  in 

Twitched,  The  Spanish  Archives  of  New  Mexico,  vol.  1,  p.  148;  Joaquin  Codallos 
y  Rabal  to  the  viceroy,  Santa  F6,  March  4,  1748,  ibid.,  pp.  148-151. 

3  Autto  of  V61ez,  April  12,  1749,  in  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar,  ff.  1-2. 

3  Notificacion  y  juramento  de  dn  Pedro  Souter  in  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar,  2-3 ; 
“  Ynterrogatorio,”  ibid.,  3-4. 

4  Declarations  of  the  three  Frenchmen,  April  13,  in  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar, 
4-12;  VAlez  to  the  viceroy,  June  19,  1749,  in  ibid.,  13-14;  declarations  of  the 
three  Frenchmen  March  5,  1750,  in  ibid.,  i6-20.  They  declared  that  the  first 
of  the  three  ranchertas  of  Comanche  comprised  eighty-four  tents  and  eight  hun¬ 
dred  persons ;  the  second  forty  and  the  third  twenty-three  tents,  with  people  in 
proportion.  They  declared  that  they  saw  five  fusees  among  the  Comanche,  and 
that  the  Indians  would  not  permit  them  to  enter  the  village.  The  Comanche  lived 


394 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


As  first  recorded  the  names  of  the  strangers  were  given  as 
Luis  del  Fierro,  Pedro  Sastre,  and  Joseph  Miguel;  they  later 
emerged  as  Luis  Febre,  Pedro  Satren,  or  Latren,  and  Joseph 
Miguel  Riballo.  According  to  the  declarations,  Febre  was  twenty- 
nine  years  old,  a  native  of  New  Orleans,  and  by  trade  a  tailor  and 
a  barber.  He  had  been  a  soldier  at  New  Orleans,  had  deserted 
to  Canada,  going  thence  to  Michillimackinac  (“San  Miguel  Ma- 
china”),  to  Ysla  Negra,  Illinois  (Silinue),  and  to  the  Arkansas 
post.  Pedro  Satren,  forty-two  years  old,  was  a  native  of  Quebec, 
where  he  had  been  a  carpenter  and  a  soldier.  He  had  also  been 
at  Michillimackinac  and  at  the  Arkansas  post,  whence  he  had 
deserted  after  fifteen  days’  service.  Riballo,  twenty-four  years 
old,  was  a  native  of  Illinois,  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  had  been 
a  soldier  in  Illinois  and  at  the  Arkansas  post.  All  stated  that 
they  were  bachelors  and  Catholics ;  none  could  sign  their  names. 
All  claimed  to  have  deserted  from  the  Arkansas  post  because  of 
harsh  treatment.  They  had  heard  of  New  Mexico  and  its  mines 
from  certain  Frenchmen  who  had  returned  from  Santa  Fe  a  few 
years  before.  They  had  been  encouraged  to  make  the  attempt  to 
reach  it  by  the  alliance  made  some  two  years  before  between  the 
Jumano  and  the  Comanche,  which  made  it  possible  to  go  through 
the  country  of  the  latter.  These  statements  illustrate  clearly 
the  effect  of  the  safe  return  of  the  Mallet  party  and  of  the  treaty 
between  the  Indian  tribes. 

The  point  of  departure  of  the  Febre  party  was  a  village  of 
Arkansas  (Zarca)  Indians  a  short  distance  west  of  the  post.  From 
there  twelve  men  had  set  out  together  in  the  fall  of  1748.  Going 
up  the  Napestle  (Arkansas),  they  passed  the  two  villages  of  the 
Jumano,  to  which  point  French  traders  went  regularly  in  canoes 
to  trade.1  Being  conducted  from  here  by  Jumano  Indians,  after 
going  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  they  reached  a  Comanche 
settlement  of  three  villages,  where  they  remained  some  time, 
hunting  with  the  Indians  and  being  asked  by  them  to  join  in  a 
campaign  against  the  A  tribe.  From  the  Comanche  settlement 


chiefly  on  buffalo  but  utilized  some  wild  cattle  for  food.  Deposition  of  Febre,  in 
Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar,  6. 

1  In  the  depositions  the  two  Panpiquet,  or  Jumano,  villages  were  said  to  com¬ 
prise  about  three  hundred  warriors,  and  the  tribe  to  be  fierce  cannibals.  Autos 
fhos  sre  averiguar,  6-7. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  NEW  MEXICO,  1749-1752  395 


Febre,  Satren,  and  Riballo  were  conducted,  in  the  course  of  a 
month,  to  the  Taos  fair,  whence  they  were  taken  by  Bustamante 
to  Santa  Fe,  arriving  there  six  months  after  setting  out.1  Upon 
reaching  Santa  Fe  they  were  dispossessed  of  their  fusees,  lodged 
in  the  Real  Palacio,  and  set  to  work. 

Two  months  later  (June  19)  Governor  Velez  made  a  report  of 
the  occurrence  to  the  viceroy  which  is  an  interesting  commen¬ 
tary  upon  the  economic  needs  of  the  old  Spanish  outpost,  and 
of  the  local  attitude  toward  intruding  foreigners  who  could  add 
to  the  economic  wellbeing  of  the  province.  At  that  time,  Velez 
said,  the  strangers  were  working  quietly  and  proficiently  at  the 
Real  Palacio,  two  of  them  being  employed  as  carpenters,  and 
Febre  as  tailor,  barber,  and  blood-letter.  He  added,  “since 
there  is  a  lack  of  members  of  these  professions  in  this  villa  and 
the  other  settlements  of  the  realm  ...  it  would  seem  to  be  very 
advantageous  that  they  should  remain  and  settle  in  it,  because 
of  their  skill  in  their  callings,  for  they  can  teach  some  of  the  many 
boys  here  who  are  vagrant  and  given  to  laziness.  It  is  very  lam¬ 
entable  that  the  resident  who  now  is  employed  as  barber  and 
blood-letter  is  so  old  that  he  would  pass  for  seventy  years  of  age ; 
as  for  a  tailor,  there  is  no  one  who  knows  the  trade  directly. 
These  are  the  three  trades  of  the  Frenchman  named  Luis.  And 
resident  carpenter  there  is  none,  for  the  structure  of  the  houses, 
and  repeated  reports  which  I  have  from  the  majority  of  the  in¬ 
habitants,  manifest  the  lack  of  carpenters  suffered  in  the  province.” 
In  view  of  these  conditions,  the  governor  recommended  that  the 
Frenchmen  be  permitted  to  remain  in  New  Mexico,  promising 
to  deport  them  to  Mexico  City  if  they  should  give  cause.2 

The  governor’s  report  reached  Mexico  in  due  time,  and  on 
August  29  was  sent  to  the  auditor  general  de  guerra,  the  Marques 
de  Altamira,  the  man  at  the  capital  who  at  this  epoch  had  most 
to  do  with  the  government  of  the  provinces.3  In  view  of  the  in- 
definiteness  of  the  declarations  of  the  three  Frenchmen,  particu¬ 
larly  in  matters  of  Louisiana  geography,  he  was  suspicious  of 
their  honesty,  and  he  therefore  advised  that  new  depositions  be 

1  Depositions  of  Febre,  Satren,  and  Riballo,  in  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar. 

1  V6Iez  to  the  viceroy,  June  19,  1749,  in  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar,  13-14. 

3  Dccreto  of  the  viceroy,  ibid.,  13  (bis).  It  is  to  be  noted  that  in  the  origi¬ 
nal  the  numbers  13  and  14  are  repeated  in  the  numbering  of  the  folios. 


396 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


taken.  On  the  other  hand,  he  approved  the  governor’s  request, 
and  advised  that  the  strangers  be  allowed  to  remain  at  Santa  Fe 
to  teach  their  trades,  on  condition  that  they  be  duly  watched.1 

The  auditor’s  advice  was  acted  upon,  and  on  October  3  a  de¬ 
spatch  was  sent  to  Governor  Velez.2  It  was  in  consequence  of 
these  instructions  that  new  depositions  were  taken,  March  5,  1750. 
The  Frenchmen  had  been  in  Santa  Fe  nearly  a  year  now,  and  no 
interpreter  was  necessary  —  at  least  none  was  officially  appointed 
as  had  been  the  case  before.  The  preeminence  of  Satren  among 
the  three  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  his  was  the  only  declara¬ 
tion  written  in  full,  the  other  two  men  saying  little  more  than  to 
subscribe  to  what  he  stated.3  In  his  new  deposition  many  of  the 
shortcomings  of  the  former  were  corrected  and  many  new  details 
added. 

In  the  meantime  seven  other  men  from  Louisiana  had  arrived 
at  Santa  Fe  at  different  times.  Satren  declared  them  to  be  fur 
traders  whom  he  knew,  and  that  they  had  left  Louisiana,  like 
himself,  in  order  to  make  a  better  living  among  the  Spaniards.4 
Clearly,  however,  they  were  not  of  the  party  of  twelve  in  which 
Satren  had  set  out  in  1748,  for  they  left  Arkansas  a  year  later. 

Among  the  newcomers  was  a  Spaniard  named  Felipe  de  Sandoval, 
who  made  a  deposition  at  Santa  Fe  on  March  1,  1750,  four  days 
before  the  second  declaration  of  Satren  was  given.  According  to 
his  statement  he  had  left  Spain  in  1742.  Near  Puerto  Rico  his 
vessel  had  been  captured  by  the  English  and  taken  to  Jamaica. 
After  remaining  there  a  prisoner  for  two  years  he  fled  on  a  French 
vessel  to  Mobile,  going  thence  to  New  Orleans  and  to  the  Arkansas 

1  Altamira  noted  especially  the  fact  that  the  deserters  failed,  in  their  descrip¬ 
tions  of  Louisiana,  to  mention  the  Natchitoches  and  Cadodacho  posts.  By 
a  misreading  he  understood  the  declarations  to  state  that  New  Orleans  was  six 
hundred  leagues  from  the  Mississippi  River,  whereas  they  meant  that  it  was  that 
distance  from  Santa  Fe.  Altamira  also  misunderstood  the  declarations  to  state 
that  the  Comanche  settlements  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  from  Santa  F6. 
What  they  stated  was  that  the  settlements  were  that  distance  from  the  Jumano 
villages.  Altamira,  dictamen,  in  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar,  13  (bis)- 16.  The  nu¬ 
merals  here  and  below  refer  to  folios. 

2  Decreto  of  the  viceroy,  September  30,  1749,  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar ,  15 ; 
memorandum,  October  3,  ibid. 

3  Declarations  of  Satren,  Febre,  and  Riballo,  March  5,  1750,  in  Autos  fhos  sre 
averiguar,  16-20.  Satren  told  in  his  new  declaration  of  the  military  post  among 
the  Canse  (Kansas)  and  stated  that  this  was  the  tribe  who  “defeated  the  Spaniards 
who  in  the  year  twenty,  to  the  number  of  twenty  men,  penetrated  as  far  as  this 
place  under  the  command  of  Don  Pedro  de  Billasur,  this  kingdom  of  New  Mexico 
being  then  governed  by  Don  Antonio  de  Balverde  y  Cosio,”  ibid.,  18. 

'Ibid.,  19. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  MEXICO,  1749-1752  397 


post  (Los  Sarcos).  There  he  became  a  hunter.  In  all  he  re¬ 
mained  in  Louisiana  five  years.1 

In  Arkansas  he  learned  of  New  Mexico  through  members  of  the 
Mallet  party  who  had  descended  the  Arkansas  River.  In  the  fall 
of  1749  he  set  out  for  New  Mexico  from  the  Arkansas  post  with  six 
companions,  one  of  whom  was  a  German.  Ascending  the  Napestle 
(Arkansas)  River  in  canoes,  at  the  end  of  fifty  days  they  reached 
the  Jumano  settlement,  where  a  French  flag  was  flying.  This 
tribe  was  at  the  time  living  in  two  contiguous  villages  of  grass 
lodges,  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Napestle,  surrounded  with 
stockades  and  ditches.  They  were  a  settled  tribe,  raising  maize, 
beans,  and  calabashes.  According  to  Sandoval  the  two  villages 
comprised  five  hundred  men.  At  this  time  they  were  still  at 
war  with  the  Pananas  (Pawnees).  They  were  fierce  cannibals, 
and  while  Sandoval  was  among  them  he  saw  them  eat  two  cap¬ 
tives.  They  had  extensive  commerce  with  the  French,  and  a 
short  time  before  Sandoval’s  visit  they  had  received  presents, 
including  a  French  flag,  from  the  comandante  general  of  Louisiana. 
They  had  a  few  horses,  which  they  had  secured  from  the  Co¬ 
manche.2 

After  remaining  twenty  days  with  the  Jumano,  Sandoval’s 
party  set  out,  accompanied  by  twelve  Indians.  They  went  south¬ 
ward  and  then  westward  for  twenty  days,  looking  for  the  Co¬ 
manche,  but  did  not  find  them.  At  the  end  of  that  time  Sando¬ 
val’s  companions  turned  back  with  the  Jumano,  leaving  him 
alone.  Soon  becoming  lost,  he  returned,  by  twelve  days’  travel, 
to  the  Jumano.  His  companions  had  not  returned  there. 

After  remaining  with  the  Jumano  a  few  days,  Sandoval  set  out 
again,  guided  by  a  Comanche  Indian  who  had  gone  to  the  Jumano 
to  trade.  Ascending  the  Napestle  (Arkansas),  at  the  end  of 
forty  days  they  reached  a  Comanche  settlement  at  the  foot  of  a 
mountain  whence  flowed  the  Rio  Case  (Canse,  Kansas?).  Here 
Sandoval  remained  four  months,  hunting  with  the  Comanche. 
While  at  the  village  twenty  Jumano  and  two  Frenchmen  came 
to  trade.  When  the  Jumano  returned  they  left  the  Frenchmen, 


1  Declaration  by  Felipe  de  Sandoval,  Santa  F6,  March  1,  1750,  in  Autos  fhos  sre 
averiguar,  21-24. 

2  Declaration  by  Sandoval,  Santa  F6,  March  1,  1750,  in  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar. 


398 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


who  decided  to  accompany  Sandoval  to  Santa  Fe.  In  another 
party  there  arrived  at  the  Comanche  village  a  German  and  a 
French  priest.  There  are  indications  that  they  were  members 
of  Sandoval’s  original  party.1  They,  too,  contemplated  going  on 
to  Santa  Fe,  but  the  German,  not  being  a  Catholic,  feared  the 
Inquisition.  Accordingly,  after  remaining  nine  days,  they  went 
back. 

Sandoval  and  his  two  companions  set  out  again,  guided  by  a 
Comanche  who  was  going  to  New  Mexico  to  sell  slaves  to  the 
Spaniards.  Proceeding  slowly  for  seven  days  to  another  Co¬ 
manche  village,  and  then  three  days  through  a  difficult  mountain, 
they  reached  Taos.  Sandoval  estimated  the  distance  from  Taos 
to  the  Jumano  as  twenty  or  twenty-five  days  northeast  by  east, 
and  from  the  Jumano  to  the  Arkansas  post  down  the  Napestle 
River  by  boat  as  nine  days. 

After  taking  the  new  depositions,  on  March  8,  1750,  Governor 
Velez  reported  again  to  the  viceroy.2  The  burden  of  this  com¬ 
munication,  aside  from  a  long  geographical  description,3  was  the 


1  In  my  transcript  of  Sandoval’s  declaration,  it  is  stated  that  he  left  Arkansas 
with  “four  Frenchmen,  a  sargente,  and  a  German”  ibid.,  fol.  21.  In  view  of  the 
presence  of  the  religionario  and  the  German  among  the  Comanche  I  am  led  to  sus¬ 
pect  that  sargente  here  is  a  miscopy  for  religionario  or  religioso. 

1  Governor  V61ez  Cachupin  to  the  viceroy,  Santa  F6,  March  8,  1750,  in  Autos 
fhos  sre  averiguar,  25-31. 

3  Governor  Vfilez’s  geographical  statement  is  of  great  interest  as  showing  the 
outlook  from  New  Mexico  at  that  time.  The  distance  from  New  Mexico  to  Louisi¬ 
ana  was  commonly  regarded  as  about  two  hundred  leagues  to  the  east,  that  to  San 
Antonio,  “of  the  government  of  Coaguila,”  as  one  hundred  and  fifty  southeast. 
To  the  east  and  southeast  were  the  Carlanes,  Palomas,  Chilpaines,  Natagees,  and 
Faraone3,  the  last  two  tribes  living  to  the  south.  To  the  northwest  were  the 
Comanches  and  Jumanes,  the  latter  called  by  the  French  Panipiquees.  The  two 
tribes,  now  allied,  made  cruel  war  upon  the  Carlanes  and  other  Apache  bands 
above  named.  The  entrance  of  the  French  into  New  Mexico  was  facilitated  by 
the  Comanche-Jumano  alliance.  The  Rio  de  Napestle,  “well-known  in  this  realm,” 
had  its  source  in  a  very  rugged  mountain  range,  about  eighty  leagues  from  Taos; 
the  Arkansas  was  shallow  in  its  upper  reaches,  but  at  the  Jumano  village,  he  had 
learned  from  the  French,  it  was  large,  and  farther  down,  after  being  joined  by  the 
Colorado  (Canadian)  it  was  still  larger.  Soldiers  of  New  Mexico,  in  pursuit  of 
Comanches,  and  led  by  Don  Bernardo  de  Bustamante  y  Tagle,  had  reached  the 
vicinity  of  the  Jumano,  following  the  banks  of  the  Rio  de  Napestle,  “on  which 
expedition  were  acquired  adequate  reports  of  those  regions,  in  the  summer  very 
delectable  and  pleasing,  and  inhabited  by  innumerable  buffalo,  which  the  Divine 
Providence  created  for  the  support  of  the  barbarians  and  the  greed  of  Frenchmen.” 
To  the  north  of  New  Mexico,  in  the  rugged  mountains,  at  a  distance  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  or  two  hundred  leagues,  were  the  nations  of  Chaguaguas,  and  less  remote, 
the  Yutas,  with  whom  also  the  Comanche  were  at  war.  For  this  reason  they 
(meaning  the  Comanche,  I  understand)  went  northwest,  joined  the  Moachos  and 
fought  with  the  settlements  of  New  Mexico,  namely  the  Navajoo,  Zuni  and  Moqui. 
From  reports  given  by  the  Moachos  it  was  thought  that  to  the  northwest  the  sea 
was  Jess  then  two  hundred  leagues  distant. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  NEW  MEXICO,  1749-1752  399 


danger  to  New  Mexico  arising  from  the  new  alliance  between  the 
Comanche  and  the  tribes  of  the  east,  the  danger  of  Comanche 
attacks  on  New  Mexico,  and  the  bad  policy  of  Governor  Mendoza 
in  permitting  the  Mallet  party,  “who  were  the  first  who  entered,” 
to  return  after  having  spied  out  the  land.  “I  regard  as  most 
mischievous  the  permission  given  to  the  first  Frenchmen  to  re¬ 
turn,”  he  said,  because  “they  gave  an  exact  account  and  relation, 
informing  the  Governor  of  Louisiana  of  their  route,  and  the  situ¬ 
ation  and  conditions  of  New  Mexico.”  He  was  convinced,  more¬ 
over,  that  it  was  French  policy  which  had  “influenced  the  minds 
of  the  Jumanes  or  Panipiquees  to  make  peace  with  the  Comanches, 
recently  their  enemies,  with  the  purpose  of  being  able  to  intro¬ 
duce  themselves  by  the  Rio  de  Napestle,  thus  approaching  near 
to  New  Mexico.”  None  of  the  newcomers  were  soldiers,  he  said, 
but  all  were  paid  hunters,  in  the  employ  of  fur  merchants.  Now 
that  they  knew  the  way,  he  feared  that  they  would  come  with 
increasing  frequency,  “which  to  me  appears  less  dangerous  to 
these  dominions  than  that  they  should  return  to  their  colonies 
with  complete  knowledge  of  and  familiarity  with  the  lands  in¬ 
spected  through  their  insolence.”  Better  distribute  them,  he 
thought,  as  settlers  in  Nueva  Vizcaya  or  Sonora,  without  per¬ 
mission  to  return,  especially  since  all  were  good  artisans,  already 
at  work  at  their  trades, .  and  since  they  were  crack  shots,  and 
therefore  would  be  very  useful  in  defending  the  provinces  against 
the  Indians. 

The  governor’s  report  reached  Mexico  by  August,  and  on 
January  9,  1751,  Altamira  reviewed  the  whole  matter.1  The 
new  depositions  of  Satren  and  his  companions  satisfied  him  on 
geographical  matters.  In  view  of  what  Velez  had  written,  he 
urged  keeping  out  the  French,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  opening 
of  communication  between  New  Mexico  and  Texas,  on  the  other.2 


1  On  August  14  it  was  sent  to  Altamira,  the  auditor  general  de  la  guerra.  On 
September  14  Altamira  asked  for  the  documents  relating  to  previous  French  in¬ 
trusions  into  New  Mexico,  and  on  the  16th  the  viceroy  ordered  them  furnished. 
Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar,  25.  On  November  18  a  testimonio  of  the  governor’s 
report  was  made.  Memorandum,  ibid.,  31. 

2  Altamira  estimated  that  from  Santa  F6  to  Los  Adaes  it  was  less  than  two  hun¬ 
dred  leagues,  and  still  less  from  Albuquerque  or  El  Paso,  “and  it  would  be  very  fit¬ 
ting  that  the  transit  and  communication  be  facilitated  from  one  province  to  the  other, 
in  order  that  with  mutual  and  reciprocal  aid  of  arms,  intervening  tribes  who  per¬ 
secute  both  realms,  should  be  forced  into  subjection,  which  would  be  aided  greatly 


400 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


He  approved,  also,  sending  to  the  interior  the  six  new  intruders 
and  others  who  might  come  later,  designating  Sonora  as  the  place, 
because  it  was  the  most  remote  possible  from  Louisiana.1  On 
January  14  the  viceroy  approved  the  recommendation,  and  on 
the  31st  the  corresponding  despatch  was  written.2 

Two  distinct  parties  of  Frenchmen  had  thus  entered  New  Mexico 
in  less  than  a  year  by  the  Arkansas  River.  They  were  soon  fol¬ 
lowed  by  others  over  the  northern  route.  In  the  meantime  the 
Jumano  had  made  peace  with  the  Pawnee  (Panana)  and  had  se¬ 
cured  an  alliance  of  the  Comanche  with  the  Pawnee  and  even  with 
the  A  tribe.3  In  these  arrangements  the  French  no  doubt  had  a 
hand,  as  in  the  case  with  the  earlier  Comanche-Jumano  treaty. 

In  1751  four  traders  from  New  Orleans  reached  New  Mexico  by 
way  of  the  Missouri  River,  it  is  said,  but  who  they  were  and  what 
the  circumstances  of  their  journey  has  not  yet  come  to  light.4 
In  the  following  year,  however,  another  party  came  by  that  route 
concerning  whom  our  information  is  quite  complete.  This  expedi¬ 
tion,  it  will  be  seen,  had  official  sanction  in  Louisiana.5 

On  August  6,  1752,  two  Frenchmen  arrived  at  the  cemetery  of 
the  mission  of  Pecos,  bearing  a  white  flag,  and  conducted  by 
Jicarilla  and  Carlana  Apaches  whom  they  had  encountered  fifteen 
leagues  before,  on  the  Gallinas  River.  They  had  nine  horses  and 
nine  tierces  of  cloth,  or  of  clothing.  Father  Juan  Joseph  Toledo, 
missionary  at  Pecos,  deposited  the  merchandise  in  the  convent  of 
the  mission,  and  at  once  wrote  to  the  governor.  Fray  Juan  was 
clearly  not  a  French  scholar,  for  the  names  of  the  strangers  he  wrote 
as  Xanxapij  and  Luis  Fxuij.  In  later  correspondence  they  emerged 
as  Jean  Chapuis  and  Luis  Feuilli  (also  Foissi).6 


by  practical  acquaintance  with  the  watering  places,  pastures,  and  other  features 
of  that  unknown  intervening  space,”  ibid.,  26. 

1  Altamira,  dictamen,  January  9,  1751,  in  Autos  fhos  sre  averiguar,  25-30. 

2  Decreto,  January  14,  1751,  ibid.,  30.  On  January  25,  a  teslimonio  of  the 
expediente  was  made  and  deposited  in  the  archives  of  the  Secretaria  del  Vireynato. 
Memoranda,  January  14,  ibid. 

3  According  to  the  Spanish  documents  these  tribes  were  now  making  war  on  the 
Kansas  and  Osage.  Testimonio  de  los  Autos  (see  note  5),  fol.  14. 

4  Ibid.,  11. 

6  The  account  of  this  party  is  gleaned  from  the  expediente  entitled  Testimonio 
de  los  Autos  fhos  a  Consulta  del  Govor  del  nuebo  Mex00  sobre  haver  llegado  dos  frhn- 
zeses  cargados  de  efectos  que  conduzian  de  la  Nueba  Orleans,  hereafter  cited  as  Testi¬ 
monio  de  los  Autos. 

6  Fray  Juan  Joseph  Toledo  to  Governor  V61ez,  Pecos,  August  6,  1752,  in  Testi¬ 
monio  de  los  Autos,  2. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  MEXICO,  1749-1752  401 


Father  Toledo’s  message  was  received  at  Santa  Fe  on  the  day 
when  it  was  written,  and  the  alcalde  mayor  of  Pecos  and  Galisteo, 
Don  Tomas  de  Sena,  who  happened  to  be  at  the  capital,  was  at 
once  sent  to  conduct  the  Frenchmen  thither.  Next  day  he  re¬ 
turned  with  the  strangers  and  their  goods.  Their  papers  were 
confiscated,  and  on  the  9th  their  depositions  were  taken,  Luis 
Febre,  who  by  now  was  “slightly  versed  in  the  Spanish  tongue,” 
acting  as  interpreter.  From  the  confiscated  documents,  the 
declarations,  and  the  related  correspondence,  we  learn  the  follow¬ 
ing  story  of  the  advent  of  Chapuis  and  Feuilli  into  the  forbidden 
territory.1 

Chapuis,  forty-eight  years  old,  was  a  native  of  France  and  a 
resident  of  Canada.  On  July  30,  1751,  he  had  secured  a  pass¬ 
port  from  the  commander  at  Michillimackinac,  Duplessis  Falberte, 
permitting  him  to  return  to  Illinois  to  attend  to  his  affairs,  and 
to  embark  the  necessary  goods  to  sell  in  Illinois  —  those  later 
confiscated  at  Santa  Fe.  Reaching  Ft.  Chartres,  he  conferred 
with  the  commander,  Benoit  de  St.  Clair  (Santa  Clara  in  the  docu¬ 
ments),  relative  to  opening  a  trade  route  to  New  Mexico,  his 
object  being  to  deal  in  fabrics.  St.  Clair  encouraged  the  enter¬ 
prise,  and  on  October  6,  1751,  issued  a  license  to  Chapuis  and 
nine  other  men  to  “  make  the  discovery  of  New  Mexico  and  carry 
the  goods  which  they  may  think  proper,”  permitting  Chapuis  to 
carry  a  flag,  and  commanding  the  men  not  to  separate  till  they 
should  reach  their  destination.  Chapuis  was  therefore  the  recog¬ 
nized  leader  of  the  expedition,  which  had  a  semi-official  sanction. 
As  transcribed  into  Spanish  records,  the  names  of  the  others  men¬ 
tioned  in  the  license  were  Roy,  Jeandron,  Foysi,  Aubuchon,  Calve, 
Luis  Trudeau,  Lorenzo  Trudeau,  Betille,  and  Du  Charme.2 

Feuilli  was  evidently  not  at  Ft.  Chartres  at  the  time  when  the 
license  was  issued,  but  joined  Chapuis  at  the  Kansas  (Canzeres) 
Indian  village,3  said  to  be  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  from 

1  Decreto  of  the  governor,  Santa  F6,  August  6,  1752,  ibid.,  9;  Obedecimienlo 
by  Thomas  de  Sena,  Alcalde  Mayor  and  Capitan  &  guerra  of  Pecos  and  Galisteo, 
Santa  Fe,  August  7,  1752,  ibid.,  9.  Decreto  of  the  governor,  Santa  F6,  August  8, 
ibid.,  9-10;  Juramento  del  Interprete,  August  8,  ibid.,  10. 

!  Declaration  of  Juan  Chapuis,  August  9,  1752,  ibid.,  10-14 ;  license  signed 
by  Benito  de  Santa  Clara  (translation),  Fuerte  de  la  Charte,  October  6,  1751,  ibid., 
8  ;  license  signed  by  Duplesis  Falberte,  Fuerte  de  San  Phelipe  de  Michilimacinac, 
July  30,  1751,  ibid.,  8. 

3  In  his  first  declaration  Feuilli  stated  that  he  joined  Chapuis  at  the  Kansas 

2d 


402 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Ft.  Chartres,  where  for  eight  years  he  had  been  official  interpreter 
in  the  pay  of  the  king  of  France,  and  where,  during  the  same  period, 
there  had  been  a  detachment  from  Ft.  Chartres.  The  Kansas 
detachment  is  called  in  the  documents  Fuerte  Cavagnol.1  Where 
the  other  eight  men  joined  Chapuis  does  not  appear. 

Chapuis  set  out  promptly,  and  on  December  9,  1751,  was  at 
Fuerte  Cavagnol.  On  the  way  thither,  or  after  reaching  there, 
he  passed  among  and  traded  with  the  Osages  and  Missouris,  who, 
together  with  the  Kansas,  comprised  five  villages,  all  under  French 
domination  maintained  by  soldiery.  At  Fuerte  Cavagnol  Chapuis 
formed  a  partnership  with  Feuilli,  “to  go  together  to  Spain,  under 
contract  to  arrive  during  the  month  of  April  near  the  settlements 
of  Spain,  beyond  Sta  Bacas,”  Chapuis  agreeing  to  advance  to 
Feuilli  four  hundred  pounds  in  merchandise  for  the  journey,  on 
condition  that  if  Feuilli  should  break  the  agreement  he  should 
pay  Chapuis  five  hundred  pounds.  Feuilli  could  not  sign  his 
name.  The  agreement  was  witnessed  by  Pedro  and  Lorenzo 
Trudeau.  On  the  same  day  Feuilli  acknowledged  a  debt  to 
Chapuis  of  four  hundred  and  nine  pounds,  due  in  the  following 
April,  to  be  paid  in  beaver  skins  or  other  peltry,  at  the  price  cur¬ 
rent  at  Fuerte  Cavagnol.2 

Leaving  the  Kansas  about  the  middle  of  March,  1752,  the  party 
continued  to  the  Pawnee  (Panana).  Either  there  or  at  the  Co¬ 
manche3  eight  of  the  men  turned  back,4  through  fear  of  the  Co¬ 
manche,  who  could  not  be  trusted.  The  two  partners  continued 
to  the  Comanche,  who  levied  a  heavy  toll  upon  them  as  a  condi¬ 
tion  of  letting  them  pass,  but  having  received  liberal  presents 


post,  ibid.,  13;  but  in  the  later  one  he  stated  that  he  left  “the  city  of  Los  Yli- 
nueses”  in  October,  1751,  which  was  about  the  time  that  Chapuis  set  out  ibid.,  36. 

1  Declaration  of  Feuilli,  ibid.,  13. 

2  Agreement  between  Juan  Chapuis  and  Luis  Foissi,  Fuerte  Cavagnol,  December 
9,  1751,  ibid.,  3;  acknowledgment  of  debt  by  Luis  Foissi,  December  9,  1715, 
ibid.,  3.  Among  the  papers  found  in  the  possession  of  Chapuis  and  Feuilli  at 
Santa  Fe  were  two  which  throw  further  light  on  their  operations.  One  was  a  letter 
signed  by  Languemin  to  an  unnamed  person,  requesting  him  to  aid  Chapuis  in 
recovering  a  slave  sold  by  the  former  to  the  latter,  and  saying,  “I  have  delivered 
thirty  pounds  of  merchandise  to  the  said  Chapuis  to  give  to  the  savages.  I  will 

give  more  if  necessary.  I  would  have  gone  myself  to - if  the  Truteaus  had 

not  gone  up.”  Another  was  a  letter  by  Foissi  (Feuilli)  to  Senor  Moreau  to  come 
and  report  what  was  happening  in  the  district,  ibid.,  4. 

5  Feuilli  stated  that  it  was  four  and  a  half  months  from  the  time  of  leaving  the 
Kansas  to  that  of  arriving  at  Pecos,  ibid.,  14. 

4  There  is  a  discrepancy  in  the  documents  regarding  the  place  where  the  eight 
turned  back. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  NEW  MEXICO,  1749-1752  403 


they  directed  them  to  New  Mexico.  From  a  point  north  of  the 
Arkansas  they  were  guided  by  an  Ae  Indian  who  had  been  a  cap¬ 
tive  in  New  Mexico  and  was  fleeing,  and  whom  they  induced  to 
return  with  them  as  guide,  bringing  them  in  from  the  north. 
At  the  Gallinas  River,  fifteen  leagues  from  Pecos,  they  met  Jicarilla 
and  Carlana  Apaches,  who  conducted  them  to  the  Pecos  mission, 
which  they  reached,  as  we  have  seen,  on  August  6,  forty  days  after 
leaving  the  Comanche,  four  and  one  half  months  after  leaving  the 
Kansas,  and  ten  months  after  leaving  Ft.  Chartres.1 

In  the  course  of  the  interrogation  by  Goyernor  Velez,  Chapuis 
explained  that  his  plan  for  trade  was  to  convey  goods  up  the 
Panana  (Missouri)  River  by  canoes,  to  the  neighborhood  of  New 
Mexico,  and  thence  by  caravan,  with  horses  bought  from  the 
Pawnee  and  Comanche.  On  account  of  risk  from  the  Comanche, 
“  in  whom  they  have  not  complete  confidence,”  they  would  escort 
each  caravan  with  fifty  or  sixty  soldiers.  Feuilli  stated  that  by  leav¬ 
ing  the  Missouri  to  the  left  (sic),  it  would  not  need  to  be  crossed. 
The  other  six  rivers,  excluding  the  Mississippi,  he  said,  could  be 
forded  by  horses.  In  a  later  statement  Feuilli  said  that  the  goods 
could  be  taken  in  canoes  up  the  Panana  River  to  the  Panana 
Indians,  thence  to  New  Mexico  by  horses  bought  from  that  tribe 
for  the  trade,  a  distance  of  three  hundred  leagues.2  On  being  in¬ 
formed  that  their  project  was  entirely  illegal,  both  Chapuis  and 
Feuilli  emphatically  declared  that  they  were  ignorant  of  the  fact, 
and  had  supposed  that  by  paying  duties  they  might  trade.  Hav¬ 
ing  learned  that  such  was  not  the  case,  they  begged  permission 
to  go  back  to  report  to  their  commander. 

But  their  request  was  not  granted.  On  the  contrary,  Governor 
Velez  decided  to  send  the  intruders  to  Mexico.  Their  goods  were 
confiscated,  put  up  at  auction  for  three  days,  and  sold  to  Thomas 
Ortiz,  a  cattle  ranchman,  for  404  pesos,  3  reales,  11  granos,  the 
proceeds  being  devoted  to  defraying  the  expenses  and  conducting 
the  prisoners  to  the  capital.  Of  the  amount  the  governor  him¬ 
self  took  one  hundred  pesos  for  the  expenses  incurred  in  New 
Mexico.  On  the  18th  Velez  reported  the  incident  to  the  viceroy, 

'Governor  VSlez  to  the  viceroy.  September  18,  1752,  ibid.,  24;  declaration 
of  Feuilli,  Mexico  City,  November  23,  1753,  ibid.,  37. 

3  Ibid.,  12,  38. 


404 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


and  expressed  renewed  fear  at  the  Comanche  alliance  with  the 
eastern  tribes.  About  the  first  of  October  the  prisoners  were 
sent  south,  in  charge  of  Pedro  Romero,  of  El  Paso,  and  on  October 
29  they  reached  Chihuahua.  From  there  they  were  conducted 
to  Mexico  by  Lorenzo  Alvarez  Godoy,  “muleteer  of  the  Mexican 
route,”  who  received  fifty  pesos  for  the  service.1 

In  January,  1753,  the  governor’s  report  was  handed  to  Altamira, 
who  in  return  expressed  the  fear  that  the  proposed  trade  was  a 
pretext  for  “  other  hidden  and  more  pernicious  ends.”  The  matter 
being  referred  to  Dr.  Andreu,  the  fiscal,  it  was  July  before  he  re¬ 
plied.  The  original  declarations  of  the  Frenchmen  were  then 
handed  to  a  translator.  Meanwhile  the  prisoners  were  languish¬ 
ing  in  jail  and  clamoring  for  release.  In  November  Andreu  again 
took  up  the  matter  and  had  new  depositions  taken  from  the 
foreigners.  They  contained  a  few  contradictions  and  a  few  ad¬ 
ditions  to  the  former  stories.2 

Immediately  after  the  declarations  were  taken,  orders  were 
issued  requiring  kind  treatment  given  the  prisoners,  and  on  January 
18,  1754  the  fiscal  gave  his  opinion.  Since  the  Frenchmen  had 
come  to  open  up  a  trade  route  with  the  permission  of  a  French 
official,  one  of  them  being  in  the  pay  of  the  French  king,  he  rec¬ 
ommended  that  the  prisoners  be  sent  at  once  to  Spain,  in  order 
that  the  king  might  decide  the  matter.  On  the  19th  this  recom¬ 
mendation  was  approved  by  the  viceroy.3 

The  French  advance  through  the  Comancherfa  at  this  time, 
encouraged  as  it  was  by  Governor  Bienville  and  the  commandant 
St.  Clair,  gives  significance  to  the  proposal  of  Governor  Kerlerec 
of  Louisiana,  in  1753,  to  break  through  the  Apache  barrier  and 
open  up  trade  with  the  more  interior  provinces  of  Mexico.  In  a 
memoire  addressed  to  the  king  in  that  year  the  new  governor 
spoke  of  Spain’s  jealous  frontier  policy,  the  weakness  of  her  out- 

1  Governor  Velez  to  the  viceroy,  September  18,  1752,  ibid.,  24;  declaration 
of  Feuilli,  Mexico  City,  November  23,  1753  ;  ibid.,  14-24,  29-30,  37. 

2  Decretos  of  the  viceroy,  January  12,  1753  ;  Dictamen  of  the  auditor,  January  12, 
1753  ;  Respuesta  fiscal,  July  28,  1753  ;  Decreto  of  the  viceroy,  July  30,  1753  ;  es- 
cripto  by  the  prisoners;  Dictamen  fiscal,  November  15,  1753;  Citacidn  de  Inter- 
prete,  November  21,  1753;  Deposition  of  the  prisoners,  November  21-23,  1753; 
Notorio  al  Alcalde,  November  23,  1753  ;  Respuesta  fiscal,  January  18,  1753,  ibid., 
24-25;  32-40. 

3  Pro  jet  de  Paix  et  D’  Alliance  avec  les  Cannecis  et  les  Avantages  qui  en  Peuvent 
Resulter  Envoys  par  KerUrec,  Gouverneur  de  la  Province  de  la  Louisianne,  en  1753, 
in  Journal  de  la  Sociite  des  Americanistes  de  Paris,  Nouvelle  Serie,  vol.  3,  pp.  67-76. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  MEXICO,  1749-1752  405 


posts,  and  the  ease  with  which  the  mines  of  Coahuila  and  Nuevo 
Leon  could  be  conquered.  As  a  base  for  securing  them  in  case 
of  any  rupture,  he  proposed  taking  possession  of  the  country  of 
the  Apache,  at  present  attached  neither  to  Spain  nor  France,  he 
said.  But  unless  peace  were  established  between  the  Apache  and 
all  their  numerous  enemies  to  the  eastward,  access  to  their  coun¬ 
try  would  be  impossible.  He  proposed,  therefore,  to  remove  the 
barrier  to  the  Apacheria  by  securing  an  alliance  between  the 
Apache  and  these  eastern  enemies.  Under  the  existing  circum¬ 
stances  of  the  French  monarchy,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  proposal 
was  never  made  the  basis  of  a  program,  but  the  fact  that  it  was 
made  at  all  is  significant.1 

These  intrusions  of  Frenchmen  into  New  Mexico  were  closely 
bound  up,  in  their  effect  upon  Spanish  policy,  with  similar 
infringements  upon  the  Texas  border,  which  had  been  going  on 
with  greater  or  less  freedom  for  many  years,  and  the  noise  made 
by  the  incursions  over  the  New  Mexico  border  found  its  loudest 
echo  on  the  Texas  frontier.  In  1751,  when  the  doings  of  the 
Febre  party  in  New  Mexico  were  reported  to  the  king  of  Spain, 
they  were  considered  together  with  the  Louisiana-Texas  question. 
As  a  result  of  the  deliberations,  on  June  26,  1751,  it  was  ordered 
that  French  intruders  in  the  Spanish  dominions  be  prevented  from 
returning  to  their  country  under  any  pretext  whatsoever.  The 
viceroy  was  ordered  to  keep  vigilant  watch  of  the  operations  of 
the  French  nation,  and,  if  necessary,  to  order  the  commandant 
of  Louisiana  to  abandon  the  Presidio  of  Natchitoches  and  Isla  de 
los  Labores,  “without  using  the  force  of  arms  for  the  present,  in 
case  he  should  resist  it,  in  order  not  to  cause  disturbances  and 
obligations  on  those  frontiers  which  might  become  paramount  in 
Europe.”  2 

In  the  course  of  the  next  two  or  three  years  complaints  regarding 


1  Instruction  Reservada  que  Trajo  el  Marquez  de  las  Amarillas,  Aranjuez,  July  30, 
1755  (Capitulo  8  summarizes  previous  proceedings),  in  I nstrucciones  que  los  Vireyes 
de  Nueva  Espafia  Dejaron  a  sus  Sucesores  (Mexico,  1867),  pp.  96-97. 

2  Testim0  de  Autos  de  Pesquiza  sobre  comercio  Ylicito  y  Demos  que  expresa  el 
superior  Despacho  que  esta  por  caveza  de  ellos,  Adais,  1751,  Bexar  Archives,  Adaes, 
1739-1755;  Report  of  Investigation  of  French  trade  by  DeSoto  Vermudez,  under 
direction  of  Gov.  Barrios,  1752-1753,  in  Archivo  General  y  Publico,  Mexico, 
Historia,  vol  299  ;  Testimonio  de  autos  fechos  en  virtud  de  Superior  Decreto  Expedido 
por  el  exmo  SeTior  I)n  Juan  Fran™  de  Giiemes  y  Horcasitas,  etc.,  September  26,  1752, 
B6xar  Archives,  Adaes,  1739-1755. 


406 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


French  aggressions  on  the  Texas  border  grew  apace.  Barrios  y 
Jauregui,  Governor  of  the  province,  made  investigations,  reported 
that  the  French  were  operating  freely  among  all  the  tribes  of  north¬ 
eastern  Texas,  and  that  the  Spaniards  were  at  the  mercy  of  the 
French,  who  absolutely  controlled  the  natives  who  were  held  in 
check  only  by  Louis  de  St.  Denis,  the  younger.  As  offsets, 
Barrios  proposed  that  Spaniards  be  permitted  to  sell  firearms  to 
the  Indians,  that  freedom  be  promised  to  slaves  escaping  from 
Louisiana,  and  that  a  presidio  be  established  on  the  San  Pedro 
River,  a  branch  of  the  Neches,  from  which  to  watch  the  French 
traders.1 

This  was  the  situation  in  January,  1754,  when  it  was  decided  in 
Mexico  to  send  Chapuis  and  Feuilli  to  Spain.  Immediately 
thereafter  (January  21-22)  the  viceroy  held  a  junta  to  consider 
the  royal  order  of  June  26,  1751,  together  with  the  related  affairs 
of  Texas  and  New  Mexico.  It  was  decided  for  the  present  to 
make  no  move  to  drive  the  French  across  the  Red  River,  since  it 
was  not  certain  whether  that  stream  or  Gran  Montana  was  the 
boundary.  For  the  same  reason  the  sending  of  an  engineer  to 
mark  the  boundary,  which  had  been  suggested,  was  regarded  as 
unnecessary.  Barrios’s  proposal  that  Louisiana  slaves  be  publicly 
offered  their  liberty  was  declared  to  be  in  bad  taste,  and  further 
consideration  was  regarded  as  necessary  before  acting  upon  his 
plan  for  a  presidio  on  the  San  Pedro.  But  Barrios  was  ordered  to 
keep  watch  that  the  French  should  not  extend  their  boundaries ; 
French  interpreters  must  be  recalled  from  villages  on  Spanish 
soil,  and  Governor  Barrios,  “with  his  discretion,  industry,  vigi¬ 
lance,  and  prudence  must  try  to  prevent  the  commerce  of  the 
French  with  the  Indians  of  Texas,  observing  what  the  governor 
of  New  Mexico  had  practiced  in  the  matter,  with  the  idea  of 
preventing  the  Indians  from  communicating  with  them.”  2 

This  decision  of  the  junta  de  guerra  in  Mexico  bore  fruit  in  the 
arrest  by  Barrios,  in  the  fall  of  1754,  of  the  French  traders,  Joseph 

1  Instruction  Reservada ,  July  30,  1755,  in  Inslrucciones  gue  los  Vireyes  de  Nueva 
Espafia  Dejaron  a  sus  Sucesores,  pp.  96-97. 

2  This  episode  is  discussed  at  length  by  Bolton,  in  Southwestern  Historical  Quar¬ 
terly,  vol.  16,  pp.  339-378.  The  connection  between  the  junta  of  January  21-22, 
1754,  and  the  arrest  of  Blancpain  is  shown  in  Expediente  sobre  la  aprehencion  .  .  . 
de  Ires  Franceses,  Archivo  General  de  Indias,  Sevilla,  Guadalajara,  103-6-23,  a 
copy  of  which  I  secured  through  Mr.  W.  E.  Dunn. 


FRENCH  INTRUSIONS  INTO  NEW  MEXICO,  1749-1752  407 


Blancpain  and  his  associates,  on  the  Texas  coast,  near  the  Trinity 
River,  and  the  establishment  there  soon  after,  of  a  Spanish  pre¬ 
sidio  and  mission,  as  means  of  holding  back  the  French.  Thus  the 
whole  French  border  question,  from  Santa  Fe  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Trinity,  was  treated  as  one. 

The  French  intrusion  into  New  Mexico  found  another  echo  in 
Sonora.  On  March  2,  1751,  Fernando  Sanchez  Salvador,  Cap¬ 
tain  of  Cuirassiers  of  Sonora  and  Sinaloa,  cited  the  French  ad¬ 
vance  westward  as  a  reason  for  haste  in  the  Spanish  occupation 
of  the  Colorado  of  the  West.  He  was  convinced  that  the  French 
traders  had  ulterior  ends  and  that  they  would  soon  reach  the 
Colorado  and  descend  it  to  the  South  Sea  unless  impeded  by  a 
Spanish  advance.1 

1  Sdnchez  thought  that  the  Carmelo  River,  of  California,  was  a  western  mouth 
of  the  Colorado.  Cuarta  Representation,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  Ill  Ser.,  vol.  3, 
pp.  662-663. 


SPEECH  MIXTURE  IN  NEW  MEXICO:  THE  INFLU¬ 
ENCE  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE  ON  NEW 
MEXICAN  SPANISH 

Aurelio  M.  Espinosa 

New  Mexico  was  first  colonized  by  the  Spaniards  in  1598, 
when  Juan  de  Onate  conquered  the  country  and  occupied  it  in 
the  name  of  Spain.  The  Indian  rebellion  of  the  year  1680  put 
an  end  to  this  first  attempt  at  colonization.  All  the  Spanish 
inhabitants  who  were  not  killed  by  the  Indians  fled  to  the  prov¬ 
ince  of  northern  Mexico.  In  1693,  however,  the  country  was 
reconquered  and  permanently  colonized  under  the  leadership  of 
Diego  de  Vargas.  From  1693  to  1846,  when  the  territory  was 
invaded  and  occupied  by  the  American  army,  New  Mexico  was 
the  home  of  a  Spanish  speaking  colony,  which  was  often  quite 
isolated  from  the  culture  centers  of  New  Spain. 

The  admission  of  Texas  as  a  state  by  the  United  States  of  North 
America  in  the  year  1845,  in  open  defiance  to  the  Mexican  govern¬ 
ment  to  which  this  territory  had  by  right  belonged  since  the 
Mexican  independence,  was  the  immediate  cause  of  the  Mexico- 
American  war,  which  ended  in  the  cession  by  Mexico  to  the  United 
States  of  the  vast  Spanish  territory  now  comprised  in  the  states 
of  California,  Nevada,  Utah,  Arizona,  Texas,  New  Mexico  and 
part  of  Colorado,  in  the  year  1848.  The  territory  of  New  Mexico, 
which  had  been  the  permanent  home  of  a  Spanish  speaking  pop¬ 
ulation  since  1693,  and  which  at  the  time  of  the  American  occupa¬ 
tion  included  also  what  is  now  Arizona  and  part  of  Colorado  and 
had  a  Spanish  population  of  over  75,000  people,  was  invaded  in 
1846  by  General  Kearny,  who  entered  New  Mexico  by  the  Santa 
Fe  trail  and  took  Santa  Fe  without  resistance.  New  Mexico 
was  formally  occupied,  a  provisional  government  was  established 

408 


SPEECH  MIXTURE  IN  NEW  MEXICO 


409 


and  the  territory  declared  a  part  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America. 

The  New  Mexican  people  offered  no  resistance  whatsoever. 
General  Armijo  who  had  been  charged  with  the  defense  of  the 
country,  finding  his  soldiers  unprepared  and  too  few  to  meet  the 
American  invaders,  fled  to  Mexico,  and  the  people,  accustomed  to 
revolutions  and  frequent  political  changes  since  the  Mexican 
independence  of  1810,  accepted  the  new  regime  not  only  without 
resistance  but  even  with  pleasure,  at  least  in  some  quarters. 
That  the  invaders  were  not  everywhere  welcome,  however,  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  only  two  years  after  the  American 
occupation,  in  1848,  an  anti-American  revolt  in  Taos  resulted  in 
the  murder  of  the  American  governor  and  the  killing  of  many  of 
the  American  settlers.  American  settlers,  who  had  begun  to 
enter  the  territory  since  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
came  in  large  numbers  after  the  American  invasion  of  1846,  from 
the  South  and  middle  West,  and  in  a  few  years  the  country  was, 
politically,  partly  Americanized,  since  when  the  New  Mexican  people 
have  been  obliged  to  live  in  a  reluctant  but  necessary  submission. 

For  some  seventy  years,  therefore,  the  Spanish  people  of  New 
Mexico  have  been  in  continuous,  direct,  and  necessary  contact 
with  English  speaking  people.  Race  antagonism  has  always 
been  very  pronounced,  especially  among  the  lower  classes  of  both 
races,  although  they  have  freely  intermarried  and  race  fusion  has 
been  gradually  taking  place.  These  intermarriages  were,  rel¬ 
atively  speaking,  much  more  frequent  in  the  first  years  of  the 
American  occupation,  when  young  soldiers,  merchants  and  ad¬ 
venturers  from  the  southern  and  middle-western  states  settled 
in  New  Mexico  and  almost  invariably  and  of  necessity  (there  being 
very  few  American  women)  married  Spanish  women.  From  the 
Louisiana  territory  there  came  also  after  the  early  thirties  many 
French  settlers  and  many  of  these  also  remained  in  New  Mexico 
and  married  Spanish  women. 

With  the  introduction  of  the  railroads  and  the  very  rapid 
commercial  progress  of  the  last  thirty  years,  together  with  the 
rapid  growth  of  large  cities  and  towns  in  New  Mexico,  there  has 
come  a  check  in  the  race  fusion  and  the  mutual  contact  and  good 
feeling  between  the  two  peoples.  This  check  has  been  caused, 


410 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


in  part,  also,  by  the  great  influx  into  New  Mexico  of  peoples  of 
other  nationalities,  especially  Jews  and  Italians.  In  the  new 
cities,  such  as  Albuquerque,  East  Las  Vegas,  Silver  City  and 
Roswell,  where  the  English  speaking  people  are  numerically 
superior,  the  Spanish  people  are  looked  upon  as  an  inferior  race 
and  intermarriages  are  not  very  frequent  at  the  present  time. 
In  some  instances  the  high-browed  Americans  who  in  these  cities 
look  down  on  the  New  Mexican-Spanish  inhabitants,  are  low  class 
Jews  and  poor  Americans  who  have  become  wealthy  in  New  Mexico 
by  very  questionable  methods.  Outside  of  a  few  of  these  very 
recent  American  cities,  however,  the  Spanish  element  is  still  the 
all  important  and  predominant  one.  Santa  Fe,  Taos,  Socorro, 
Las  Cruces,  Tome,  West  Las  Vegas  and  a  score  of  other  smaller 
towns  and  many  more  villages  are  predominantly  Spanish  and 
in  these  places  the  English  influence  in  language,  customs  and 
habits  of  life  is  very  insignificant.  Some  of  the  very  isolated 
places  like  Taos  and  Santa  Fe  are  yet  thoroughly  Spanish  and  will 
continue  so,  perhaps,  for  more  than  a  century.1 

At  the  time  of  the  American  occupation  of  New  Mexico  in  1846, 
the  entire  Spanish  population  of  what  is  now  New  Mexico  and 
southern  Colorado  was  about  50,000.  By  1885,  or  some  forty 
years  after  the  American  occupation,  the  Spanish  population  of 
these  regions  had  risen  to  100,000,  while  the  English  speaking 
people  numbered  less  than  40,000.  The  rapid  influx  and  rise  of 
the  American  population  did  not  become  important  until  after 
1880,  or  after  the  introduction  of  the  railroads  and  other  means 
of  rapid  transportation  and  communication.  At  present,  the 
Spanish  people  of  New  Mexico  number  about  175,000  or  about 
one  half  of  the  entire  population  of  the  state.  In  southern  Colo¬ 
rado  the  Spanish  people  number  about  50,000.  The  Spanish 
inhabitants  of  New  Mexico  and  southern  Colorado,  or  the  New 
Mexican  territory,  which  is  the  .special  object  of  our  present  study, 
number,  therefore,  about  225, 000. 2 

1  The  Spanish  inhabitants  of  New  Mexico  and  Colorado  are  descendants  of  the 
old  Spanish  families  which  entered  the  country  with  the  conquistador es  in  1598 
and  1693.  They  very  rarely  intermarried  with  the  native  Indian  population  and 
are,  therefore,  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  Spanish.  See  also,  Studies  in  New  Mexi¬ 
can  Spanish,  Part  I,  pp.  334,  335. 

*  My  previous  estimate  was  a  little  exaggerated.  See  The  Spanish  Language 
in  New  Mexico  and  Southern  Colorado  (Santa  F6,  New  Mexico,  1911),  p.  17,  and 
Studies,  vol.  1,  p.  1. 


SPEECH  MIXTURE  IN  NEW  MEXICO 


411 


In  the  region  in  question,  therefore,  the  Spanish  and  English 
speaking  inhabitants  are  very  evenly  divided,  numerically.  The 
inhabitants  of  both  races,  however,  are  not  everywhere  evenly 
divided.  Some  of  the  very  recent  cities  like  Albuquerque  and 
Roswell  have  twenty  Americans  to  one  Spaniard,  while  in  cities 
like  Taos  and  Tierra  Amarilla  the  figures  are  easily  reversed.  The 
remote  mountain  districts  of  New  Mexico  are  settled  entirely  by 
Spanish  people  and  there  is  not  found  one  American  to  fifty 
Spanish  inhabitants.  A  very  large  portion  of  the  New  Mexican 
territory,  therefore,  has  not  yet  come  under  the  influence  of  Amer¬ 
ican  institutions,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  public  school 
system  makes  an  attempt  to  introduce  everywhere  the  use  of 
English. 

The  New  Mexico  public  school  system  dates  from  the  year  1896. 
Since  that  time  there  has  been  a  systematic  attempt  to  have  the 
English  language  taught  in  all  the  schools.  Sometimes  the 
American  authorities  have  been  very  bitter  in  denouncing  the 
use  of  Spanish  in  some  of  the  country  schools  and  in  their  en¬ 
thusiasm  for  the  English  language  have  gone  so  far  as  to  forbid 
the  use  of  Spanish  by  the  Spanish  children  during  their 
play.  All  such  measures  have  been  fruitless.  The  fact  of  the 
matter  is  that  previous  to  1896,  and  in  many  instances  even  at 
the  present  time,  Spanish  has  been  taught  in  the  private  and 
public  schools,  and  has  been  considered  far  more  important  than 
English;  and  where  there  were  no  schools,  parents  w'ho  could 
read  and  write  taught  their  children  to  read  and  write  in  Spanish. 
At  present,  although  the  school  laws  demand  the  use  of  English 
in  the  public  schools,  in  many  places,  where  all  the  pupils  and 
even  the  teacher  are  Spanish,  more  Spanish  is  taught  than  English, 
and  the  whole  atmosphere  of  the  school  is  decidedly  Spanish.1 
The  Spanish  inhabitants  of  New  Mexico  have  been,  therefore, 
very  zealous  about  the  use  of  their  native  speech,  and  in  spite  of 
the  present  intellectual  and  commercial  superiority  of  their 
American  neighbors,  have  not  abandoned  their  language,  re- 

1  In  the  summer  of  1910  I  had  charge  of  the  four  weeks’  Teachers’  Institute  of 
Socorro  County  in  central  New  Mexico.  There  were  in  attendance  some  twenty- 
five  school  teachers,  all  but  four  Spanish,  and  of  the  twenty-one  who  were  Spanish, 
not  one  half  could  carry  on  correctly  an  ordinary  conversation  in  the  English  lan¬ 
guage.  They  taught  in  districts  where  only  Spanish  is  spoken  and  gave  some  of 
the  instruction  in  Spanish. 


412 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


ligion,  customs,  and  habits  of  life.  As  to  language,  not  one  in  a 
hundred  is  found  who  has  entirely  abandoned  the  use  of  Spanish 
and  taken  up  English  in  his  home.  This  fact  speaks  eloquently 
for  the  tenacity  and  vigor  of  Spanish  tradition  and  culture. 

With  the  new  generation,  however,  and  especially  with  the  new 
Spanish  population  of  the  cities  and  towns  where  the  Spanish 
and  American  inhabitants  are  evenly  divided,  the  problem  is  be¬ 
coming  fundamentally  different.  The  Spanish  school  children  of 
the  predominantly  American  cities  and  towns  like  Roswell,  Al¬ 
buquerque,  East  Las  Vegas,  etc.,  speak  English  as  well  as  the  Eng¬ 
lish  speaking  people  and  speak  very  poor  Spanish.  The  growth 
of  the  English  influence  in  the  schools  has  been,  therefore,  the 
greatest  recent  factor  in  the  gradual  encroachment  of  the  English 
language  on  the  Spanish  language  in  New  Mexico  and  southern 
Colorado.  This  is  not,  however,  the  only  factor.  The  Ameri¬ 
canization  of  the  country  has  brought  with  it  the  introduction  of 
all  American  institutions  with  their  modes  of  expression.  In 
many  fields  of  activity  and  intercourse,  for  example,  in  com¬ 
merce,  political  institutions,  and  machinery,  the  Spanish  people 
readily  adopted  the  English  terminology,  in  many  cases  having 
no  Spanish  equivalents. 

Of  the  entire  New  Mexican-Spanish  population  of  New  Mexico 
and  southern  Colorado,  about  75,000,  or  one  third  of  the  popu¬ 
lation,  is  entirely  ignorant  of  the  English  language.  Most  of 
these  are  people  above  fifty  years  of  age.  Of  the  people  under 
forty  years  of  age  nine  out  of  ten  have  been  in  the  public  schools 
and  speak  English  fairly  well.  There  are,  of  course,  great  dif¬ 
ferences,  if  one  distinguishes  between  town  and  country  districts, 
social  classes,  etc.  In  some  isolated  districts  and  towns  not  ten 
per  cent  of  the  Spanish  inhabitants  speak  English.  In  cities  where 
the  American  influence  is  great  the  figures  are  easily  reversed. 
But  even  where  English  is  not  wide-spread  among  the  Spanish 
inhabitants  the  English  influence,  especially  in  language,  is  strong, 
for  reasons  already  stated.  Even  in  cases  where  race  pride  and 
the  love  of  the  mother  tongue  have  been  decidedly  contrary  to 
the  acceptance  of  the  English  language,  the  necessary  commercial 
and  political  intercourse  with  English  speaking  peoples,  the 
introduction  of  American  machinery,  farming  implements,  house- 


SPEECH  MIXTURE  IN  NEW  MEXICO 


413 


hold  articles,  etc.,  many  of  these  of  recent  invention  and  previously 
unknown  to  the  New  Mexicans,  and  lastly,  as  we  have  said,  the 
compulsory  introduction  of  the  English  language  in  the  schools, 
have  of  necessity  caused  the  introduction  of  a  large  English  vo¬ 
cabulary  into  New  Mexican  Spanish. 

It  is  no  easy  matter  to  determine  through  what  channels  the 
English  words  have  found  their  way  into  New  Mexican  Spanish. 
The  way  the  words  have  been  introduced  has  been  in  many  cases, 
no  doubt,  associated  with  the  time  of  introduction,  although  this 
is,  generally  speaking,  as  yet  an  unimportant  matter.  Such  words 
as  cute  <  coat,  rinque  <  drink,  jolon  <  hold  on,  bogue  < 
buggy,  queque  <  cake,  escrepa  <  scraper,  jaira  <  harrow, 
reque  <  rake,  jariru  <  how  do  you  do,  esteble  <  stable,  greve 

<  gravy,  broquis  <  broke,  craque  <  cracker,  parna  <  part¬ 
ner,  are  words  of  extremely  wide  usage,  belong  to  general  termi¬ 
nology,  and  must  have  been  introduced  in  the  early  years  of  the 
American  occupation.  Such  words  as  boila  <  boiler,  breca  < 
brake,  cabus  <  caboose,  chequiar  <  check,  espaique  <  spike, 
guiangue  <  gang,  pulman  <  Pullman,  reque  <  wreck,  suichi  < 
switch,  tnya  <  tie,  troca  <  truck,  yarda  <  yard,  belong 
exclusively  to  the  railroad  vocabulary  and  have  been  introduced 
into  New  Mexican  Spanish  since  this  institution  came  to  New 
Mexico  or  after  1880.  In  the  same  way,  it  seems  fairly  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  such  words  as  esmart  <  smart,  felo  <  fellow, 
besbol  <  baseball,  crismes  <  Christmas,  espichi  <  speech,  fain 

<  fine,  fone  <  funny,  ful  <  fool,  espeliar  <  spell,  juipen  < 
whipping,  rede  <  ready,  have  been  introduced  through  the  pub¬ 
lic  school  channels  and  are  of  very  recent  introduction.  Many 
social  terms  and  words  that  have  to  do  with  recent  factory  and 
city  employment  terminology,  such  as  pare  <  party,  jaque  < 
HACK,  piquenique  <  picnic,  quiande  <  candy,  aiscnm  <  ice¬ 
cream,  sangiiichi  <  sandwich,  sets  <  set,  sute  <  suit,  londre 

<  LAUNDRY,  SOmil  <  SAW-MILL,  polls  <  POLICE,  lonchi  <  LUNCH, 
gobc  <  job,  cambasiar  <  canvass,  bit  <  bil,  chachar  <  charge, 
espres  <  express,  are  also,  clearly,  of  very  recent  origin. 

The  English  influence  on  New  Mexican  Spanish  has  been  slow 
and  gradual.  Asa  rule,  the  English  words  adopted  have  no  Spanish 
equivalent.  In  most  cases  the  adoption  of  the  English  word  has 


414 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


not  been  a  case  of  fashion,  luxury  in  speech,  neglect  of  Spanish, 
or  mere  desire  of  imitating  the  language  of  the  invaders,  but  an 
actual  convenience  and  necessity.  Of  the  entire  New  Mexican- 
Spanish  vocabulary  of  English  source  by  far  more  than  50  per 
cent  of  the  words  have  been  introduced  since  the  year  1880,  or 
rather  within  the  last  thirty-five  years. 

The  New  Mexican-Spanish  vocabulary  of  English  source  is 
very  unequally  distributed  throughout  New  Mexico  and  Colorado. 
Of  the  entire  vocabulary,  perhaps  50  per  cent  is  of  general  use 
among  the  Spanish  inhabitants,  while  the  other  50  per  cent  is  used 
only  by  those  who  are  continually  in  daily  and  necessary  contact 
with  English  speaking  people  in  the  cities  or  places  and  institutions 
where  certain  special  vocabularies  are  in  constant  use.  The  me¬ 
chanic  who  works  in  the  railroad  shops  uses  continually  and  uncon¬ 
sciously  such  words  as  sopes  <  shops,  estraique  <  strike,  estiple 
<  staple,  boila  <  boiler,  forman  <  foreman,  guasa  <  WASHER, 
reile  <  rail,  and  a  score  or  more  of  other  words  peculiar  to  his 
trade,  words  absolutely  unknown  to  the  New  Mexican  wood-seller 
or  inhabitant  of  the  mountain  districts.  The  same  applies  to 
other  trades  and  professions. 

It  is  a  surprising  thing,  however,  to  observe  the  general  diffusion 
of  a  large  part  of  the  English  borrowed  words.  Words  that  are 
once  adopted  and  which  become  phonetically  Spanish,  become  a 
part  of  the  New  Mexican-Spanish  vocabulary  and  no  one  is  cog¬ 
nizant  of  their  English  source.  The  New  Mexicans  who  come 
from  the  mountain  districts,  or  from  the  remote  country  villages 
and  who  speak  only  Spanish,  and  on  arriving  at  a  town  enter  a 
drug  store  to  ask,  ‘  Quier  ’  una  boteit’e  penquila  ( <  pain-killer,  a 
patent  medicine),  or  a  saloon  to  ask,  ‘Quier’  un  frasquitu  e  juisque 
(<  whiskey),  are  speaking,  as  far  as  they  are  concerned,  pure 
Spanish. 

Besides  the  use  of  the  regularly  developed  words  of  English 
source,  there  presents  itself  in  the  cities  where  English  is  pre¬ 
dominant  the  problem  of  actual  speech  mixture.  In  the  streets, 
in  the  factories,  shops,  stores,  and  other  places  of  employment  and 
amusement,  and  even  in  the  homes,  especially  when  all  those  in 
the  family  can  speak  good  English,  one  continually  hears  the 
New  Mexican-Spanish  people  speaking  Spanish  and  English  mixed. 


SPEECH  MIXTURE  IN  NEW  MEXICO 


415 


In  such  cases  regular  English  words  and  phrases  are  used  mingled 
with  Spanish  words  and  phrases.  The  part  of  speech  least  used 
in  such  mixtures  is  the  verb,  which  when  used  at  all  is  regularly 
developed  and  takes  the  Spanish  verb  endings.  The  line  between 
the  regularly  developed  New  Mexican-Spanish  words  of  English 
source  and  the  English  words  and  phrases  used  at  random  and 
with  the  usual  English  inflection,  is,  as  a  rule,  easy  to  draw.  On 
the  other  hand  this  very  kind  of  speech  mixture  is  at  present  the 
great  factor  in  introducing  English  words  into  New  Mexican 
Spanish.  A  word  frequently  used,  even  if  known  to  be  English 
by  those  who  use  it,  can  be  easily  adopted  as  a  regular  Spanish 
word. 

The  kind  of  speech  mixture  which  brings  into  the  Spanish  of 
New  Mexico  the  use  of  regular  English  words  and  phrases  has 
no  fixed  limits  and  cannot  follow  regular  laws.  There  is  no  limit 
to  the  use  of  such  curious  phenomena,  and  they  are  most  common 
among  those  who  work  in  the  cities,  the  school  children  and  the 
educated  who  know  English  well.  Even  the  uneducated,  how¬ 
ever,  partake  in  this  phenomenon,  so  that  the  English  influence  on 
the  Spanish  language  of  New  Mexico  and  Colorado  is  very  strong 
in  various  ways.  It  has  introduced  some  300  regular  hispanized 
words  of  English  source,1  has  caused  the  curious  speech  mixture 
of  which  we  have  just  spoken,  and  has  influenced  the  syntax  of 
the  Spanish  language  itself.2 

Since  the  examples  of  the  speech  mixture  just  mentioned  could 
be  multiplied  almost  ad  libitum,  I  made  no  systematic  attempt  to 
record  all  those  heard.  As  in  most  such  cases  the  English  words 
or  phrases  used  remain  unchanged,  there  seemed  no  great  value 
for  the  philologist  in  collecting  examples.  A  few  of  those  which 
are  found  among  my  notes  are  the  following : 

]  This  number  does  not  include  derivations.  One  single  noun  of  English  origin 
may  give  two  or  even  three  or  more  derivatives,  so  that  counting  in  all  derivatives, 
including  diminutives,  augmentatives  and  post-verbal  nouns,  the  number  of  words 
of  English  origin  may  easily  reach  600  or  more.  In  the  number  above  given,  300 
words  of  English  origin,  are  included  only  basic  words  developed  in  tola  forma  from 
the  English  original,  such  as  quique  <  kick,  a  regular  phonetic  development,  whereas 
quiquiada ,  quiquiadita,  quiquiadera  are  derivatives  which  have  Spanish  endings. 

1  An  English  influence  similar  to  the  one  found  in  New  Mexican  Spanish  exists 
no  doubt  in  the  Spanish  of  Arizona,  Texas  and  California.  In  the  region  of  Santa 
Barbara  in  Southern  California,  a  strong  Spanish  community  since  the  early  part 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  I  have  found  some  150  basic  words  of  direct  English 
source,  regularly  developed  and  in  common  use  among  the  Spanish  inhabitants. 
Their  phonetic  development  differs  very  little  from  the  New  Mexican. 


416 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


i  que  ice-cream  tan  fine  ! 
i  que  fine  ice-cream  ! 
i  que  hombre  tan  sporty  ! 

Well,  boys,  vamonos. 

S  how  are  you,  senoritas  ? 
senorita,  come  in. 
well,  come  along,  chicos. 
you  bet  que  si. 

va  (a)  haber  una  feria  muy  fine. 

este  team  tieni  un  fine  pitcher. 

tuvimos  un  grand  time. 

ayer  juimos  a  los  movies. 

queria  andar  de  smart  and  he  got  it  in  the  neck. 

yo  no  voy  a  bailar  este  two-step. 

i  comieron  turkey  pa  Christmas  ? 

I  onde  sta  mi  silk  hat  ? 

I  que  waist  tan  bonito  traia  la  novia  ! 

I  que  muchacha  tan  fool  ! 
es  el  nino  mas  cute  que  he  visto. 
no  andes  ai  de  smart  Alek. 

vamos  ir  al  foot-ball  game  y  despues  al  baile  a  tener  the  time  of  our 
lives. 

he  is  doing  the  best  he  can  pa  no  quedarsi  atras  pero  lo  van  a  fregar. 
no  seas  tan  cheater. 

Well,  compadre,  &  how  is  your  vieja? 
quitate  di  aqin,  cry-baby. 

sean  hombres  y  no  anden  fooling  around  tanto. 
esa  si  que  fue  una  first  class  cochinada. 

No  le  hagas  caso  a  es e  fool. 

The  English  influence  appears  also  in  other  important  spheres 
of  linguistic  development,  construction,  word  order  and  in  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  new  meanings  in  the  Spanish  language  itself.  The 
commercial  and  political  superiority  of  the  English  language  in 
these  regions  has  caused  the  Spanish  to  be  considered  by  necessity 
the  less  important  and  under  the  continuous  influence  of  English 
in  every  respect.  Even  the  local  Spanish  newspapers  (and  there 
are  about  a  score  of  these  in  New  Mexico  and  some  six  or  seven 


SPEECH  MIXTURE  IN  NEW  MEXICO 


417 


in  Colorado)  are  full  of  English  phrases  and  constructions  which 
have  been  literally  translated  from  the  English.  Since  the  Span¬ 
ish  newspapers  publish  American  news  taken  from  the  English 
newspapers  the  influence  is  direct.  The  New  Mexicans  are 
educated  in  English  schools,  and  necessarily  all  possible  influences 
are  changing  gradually  the  Spanish  constructions  into  English 
constructions  with  Spanish  words.  From  a  Spanish  population 
that  is  in  continual  and  necessary  contact  with  English  speaking 
people  who  make  no  effort  to  learn  Spanish,1  and  whose  language 
they  must  study  and  speak,  the  influence  just  mentioned  is  exactly 
what  is  to  be  expected.  The  people  are  beginning  to  think  in 
English  and  for  expression  seek  the  Spanish  words  which  convey 
the  English  idea. 

The  English  influence  in  question  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
problems  in  linguistic  investigation.  We  have  before  us,  not 
the  gradual  and  natural  development  of  syntax,  word-meaning, 
etc.,  as  one  can  observe  in  the  gradual  development  of  popular 
Latin  into  the  Romance  Languages,  but  the  somewhat  unnatural 
and  necessary  development  which  comes  from  urgent  economic 
causes.  The  complete  materials  for  this  part  of  our  work  have 
not  been  yet  worked  out  in  detail,  and  we  shall  content  ourselves 
with  a  few  examples  of  the  phenomena  in  question. 

The  most  difficult  part  of  the  study  above  mentioned  is  that 
involving  mere  idea  expressions  which  involve  no  necessary 
association  with  American  institutions.  The  problem  is  made 
all  the  more  complicated  when  one  has  to  decide  whether  the  new 
construction  could  have  been  evolved  without  the  English  in¬ 
fluence.  Expressions  and  constructions  evolved  in  New  Mexican 
Spanish  directly  under  the  influence  of  the  English  construction 
are  very  numerous.  Of  the  following,  some  are  taken  from  my 
notes,  others  are  taken  from  the  local  Spanish  newspapers.  To 
show  clearly  how  parallel  the  constructions  run,  I  give  the  English 
equivalent,  in  good  English.  As  for  the  Spanish,  in  some  cases 
it  would  have  to  be  translated  again  into  Spanish  to  make  it 
clear. 

1  The  New  Mexico-English  Americans  are  prejudiced,  as  a  rule,  against  the 
Spanish  inhabitants  and  do  not  care  for  their  language  or  culture.  In  California, 
where  the  English  speaking  population  is  more  enlightened,  we  find  no  racial  preju¬ 
dice,  and  the  cult  for  Spanish  things  is  general. 

2f 


418 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


los  prisioneros  fueron  puestos  libres,  the  prisoners  were  set  free. 
haga  fuerza  venir,  make  an  effort  [to  try]  to  come. 
si  gusta,  if  you  please. 

la  mejor  cosa  en  el  proyecto,  the  best  thing  in  the  bill. 
consiste  de  tres  partes,  it  consists  of  three  parts. 
nadie  debe  interferir  en  este  asunto,  no  one  must  interfere  in  this  affair. 
el  comite  se  convino  a  las  dos,  the  committee  convened  at  two 
o’clock. 

todas  otras  apropiaciones  se  haran  en  decretos  separados,  all  other 
appropriations  shall  be  made  in  separate  bills. 
fue  ordenado  de  ir  a  la  carcel,  he  was  ordered  to  go  to  jail. 
iventa  nunca  vista!  Iprecios  quebrados!  ivengan  a  ver  para  ustedes 
mismos!  los  que  vengan  primero  serdn  servidos  primero,  wonder¬ 
ful  sale  !  prices  smashed  !  come  and  see  for  yourselves  !  first 
come,  first  served.1 

la  familia  de  la  viuda  sera  soportada  por  el  estado,  the  widow’s 
family  will  be  supported  by  the  state. 
fueron  recipients  de  muchos  presentes,  they  were  the  recipients  of 
many  presents. 

ninos  de  decendencia  espavola  jamas  serdn  negados  el  privilegio  de 
admision  y  atendencia  a  las  escuelas  publicas,  children  of 
Spanish  origin  shall  never  be  denied  the  privilege  of  ad¬ 
mission,  etc. 

todo  poder  politico  esta  investado  y  emana  del  pueblo,  all  political 
power  is  invested  in  and  emanates  from  the  people. 
la  constitucion  tomara  efecio  y  entrara  en  plena  fuerza,  the  constitu¬ 
tion  will  take  effect  and  come  into  full  force. 
nada  en  este  articulo  sera  construido  de  prohibir  el  giro  de  bonos, 
nothing  in  this  article  must  be  construed  to  prohibit  the 
floating  of  bonds. 

dos  de  sus  hijos  atienden  a  las  escuelas  publicas,  two  of  his  sons  are 
attending  the  public  schools. 

The  Spanish  translations  used  for  governmental,  political, 
educational,  industrial,  farming,  and  household  terminologies, 

1  The  English  imitation  reaches  the  height  of  ignorance  and  stupidity  in  the 
following  announcement  (Albuquerque,  1909)  :  /'  Gran  venta  de  salvaje  para  hombres 

y  mujeres  y  nifios!  Great  salvage  sale  for  men  women  and  children  !  Even  the 
uneducated  New  Mexicans  remarked  that  only  the  final  s  of  salvajes  was  missing. 


SPEECH  MIXTURE  IN  NEW  MEXICO 


419 


alone  furnish  material  for  a  long  and  interesting  study.  The 
English  words  in  question  must  of  necessity  be  translated  and  the 
New  Mexicans  draw  from  their  own  resources  and  easily  find  some 
word  or  words  to  express  the  idea.  The  phrases  and  word  groups 
joined  with  the  preposition  de,  in  origin  a  Spanish  construction, 
are  very  abundant.  Since  I  have  not  made  a  special  study  of 
these  terminologies  in  any  of  my  publications,  the  complete  list 
from  my  notes  is  given  below.  The  list,  no  doubt,  is  a  small  part 
of  those  in  actual  usage. 

aceite  di  olivo,  olive  oil. 

administrador  de  terrenos,  land  administrator. 

aliansa  de  los  rancheros,  farmers’  alliance. 

asistente  estafetero,  assistant  postmaster. 

auditor  ambxdante,  travelling  auditor. 

bolcta  republicana,  republican  ballot. 

cama  que  se  dobla,  folding-bed. 

carta  enregistrada,  registered  letter. 

came  de  bote,  canned  meat. 

casa  di  alto,  two  story  house. 

casa  de  corte,  court  house. 

colegio  di  agricoltura,  College  of  Agriculture. 

comisionado  de  condado,  county  commissioner. 

compama  de  V aseguransa,  insurance  company. 

comun  de  cadena,  water-closet. 

corte  suprema,  supreme  court. 

corte  de  distrito,  district  court. 

cuerda  de  la  lus  eledrica,  electric  light  wire. 

dia  de  Crismes,  Christmas  day. 

dia  di  accion  de  gracias,  Thanksgiving  day. 

dipo  de  V  union,  union  depot. 

diputau  alguasil,  deputy  sheriff. 

diputau  asesor,  deputy  assessor. 

diputau  escribano,  deputy  clerk. 

el  de  las  ordenes,  the  order  man  (grocer). 

enumerador  del  censo,  census  enumerator. 

escuela  alta,  high  school. 

escuela  de  minas,  school  of  mines. 


420 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


escuela  normal,  normal  school. 

escuela  de  reforma,  reform  school. 

espiritos  di  alcamfor,  spirits  of  camphor. 

esteque  de  pierna,  round  steak. 

fondo  de  escuelas,  school  fund. 

frijoles  de  jarro,  canned  beans. 

frutas  evaporadas,  evaporated  fruits. 

gran  jurau,  grand  jury. 

gran  marcha,  grand  march  (at  balls). 

hospital  de  mineros,  miners’  hospital. 

implementos  de  rancho,  ranch  implements. 

ispetor  de  caminos,  road  overseer. 

jamon  di  almuerso,  breakfast  bacon. 

jamon  de  pierna,  ham. 

jues  de  distrito,  district  judge. 

jues  de  la  corte  suprema,  supreme  court  judge. 

jues  de  pas,  justice  of  the  peace. 

leche  de  bote,  condensed  milk. 

leva  de  cola,  swallow  tail  coat. 

leva  larga,  Prince  Albert  coat. 

leva  de  tasacion,  tax  levy. 

maquina  de  cortar  sacate,  hay-mower. 

maquina  de  cortar  trigo,  harvester. 

maquina  de  coser,  sewing  machine. 

maquina  de  tr'iar,  threshing  machine. 

maquina  de  rajar,  saw-mill,  lumber  mill. 

maquinita  de  moler  came,  meat-chopper. 

mariscal  de  la  suidd,  city  marshall. 

mariscal  de  los  Estaus  Unidos,  United  States  marshal. 

mayor  de  la  suidd,  city  mayor. 

medesina  de  la  patente,  patent  medicine. 

mesa  de  librena,  library  table. 

mesa  de  cosina,  kitchen  table. 

mesita  del  cuarto  de  recibo,  parlor  table. 

notario  publico,  notary  public. 

orden  de  estafeta,  post-office  money-order. 

oya  del  eslope,  slop  bucket. 

olivas,  olivos,  olives. 


SPEECH  MIXTURE  IN  NEW  MEXICO 


421 


palita  de  los  panqueques,  pancake  paddle. 

palito  de  los  dientes,  toothpick. 

palo  de  telegrafo,  telegraph  pole. 

patio  de  maderas,  lumber  yard. 

pinturas,  moving  pictures. 

pipas  del  aqua,  water  pipes. 

pipas  del  gas,  gas  pipes. 

procurador  de  distrito,  district  attorney. 

procurador  general,  attorney  general. 

planta  de  la  eletresida,  electric  light  plant. 

regentes  de  I’Universidd,  University  regents. 

sarsaparila  del  dotor  ayer,  Dr.  Ayer’s  Sarsaparilla. 

sete  de  platos,  set  of  dishes. 

superintendente  de  instrusion  publica,  superintendent  of  public 
instruction. 

supervisor  de  florestas,  forest  supervisor. 

supervisor  del  censo,  census  supervisor. 

tienda  de  grocenas,  grocery  store. 

tienda  de  /’ union,  union  store. 

tiquete  de  paso  redondo,  round-trip  ticket. 

tunico  de  tienda,  ready-made  dress. 

vestido  de  tienda,  ready-made  suit. 

viaje  redondo  (also  paso  redondo),  round  trip. 

yarda,  yard  of  a  house,  lot,  courtyard. 

yardas  del  ferrocarril,  railroad  yards. 

yave  del  agua,  water-faucet. 

zapatos  bajitos,  low  shoes,  slippers. 

PHONETIC  DEVELOPMENTS 

The  phonetic  changes  involved  in  the  hispanized  words  of  Eng¬ 
lish  origin  are  of  the  greatest  interest  to  the  philologist.  The  study 
of  these  changes  does  not  concern  us  here,  and  it  is  sufficient  to 
point  out  a  few  of  the  most  general.  The  phonetic  processes  in 
question  forcibly  remind  the  philologist  of  the  similar  processes  in 
the  old  Vulgar  Latin  and  early  Romance  words  derived  from  the 
old  Germanic  dialects.  In  both  the  old  and  modern  developments 
we  have  the  case  of  a  Germanic  language  furnishing  hundreds  of 


422 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


vocables  for  adoption  by  a  Latin  language.  It  would  not  be  strange 
to  find  a  few  parallel  developments,  but  it  is  indeed  surprising  to 
find  that  many  of  the  important  phonetic  processes  involved  are 
essentially  the  same.  These  facts  speak  eloquently  for  the  eth¬ 
nical  unity,  vigor,  and  force  of  these  important  branches  of  the 
Indo-European  languages,  and  at  the  same  time  give  testimony 
to  the  existence  and  solidarity  of  phonetic  laws.  Some  of  these 
changes  are  now  given : 

1.  Vowels 

English  accented  u  becomes  New  Mexican-Spanish  o,  buggy  > 
bogue,  lunch  >  lonchi,  bunch  >  bonchi,  fun  >  fon.  In  the  same 
manner  Germanic  u  becomes  o  in  Romance,  Franconian  hurdi  > 
Old  French  horde,  Old  High  German  kupphia  >  Old  Spanish  cofia. 

English  accented  o  become  New  Mexican-Spanish  o,  boss  >  bos, 
lot  >  lote.  In  the  same  manner  Germanic  o  often  becomes  o 
in  Romance,  Old  English  north  >  Spanish  norte,  Fr.  nord.  The 
law  of  o  >  ue  does  not  operate  any  longer. 

English  accented  o  may  become  New  Mexican  Spanish  u  (gener¬ 
ally  o),  coat  >  cute,  high-toned  >  jaitun.  Likewise  Germanic 
o  often  became  u  in  Romance,  *urgoli  >  sp.  orgullo,  Germanic 
hlodwig  >  O.  French  Louis. 

English  accented  e  becomes  New  Mexican-Spanish  i,  speech  > 
espichi,  lease  >  lis.  Likewise  Germanic  i  (ee)  became  Romance 
i,  Gothic  riks  >  French  riche,  Sp.  rico,  Old  H.  German  eslizan 
>  O.  French  eslicier. 

2.  Epenthetic  Vowels 

Between  certain  English  consonant  groups  epenthetic  vowels 
develop  in  New  Mexican  Spanish,  in  the  same  manner  as  in  Ger¬ 
manic  groups  which  passed  over  into  Romance. 

English  nickel  >  niquel,  English  macnally  >  Mequenale, 
shotgun  >  sotegon.  Likewise  Germanic  bollwerk  >  Old 
French  boulevard,  English  partner  >  Fr.  partenaire. 

3.  Consonants 

English  initial  w  becomes  New  Mexican-Spanish  gxi,  waist  > 
gueiste,  Winchester  >  gxnncheste,  Willy  >  Guile.  In  the  same 


SPEECH  MIXTURE  IN  NEW  MEXICO 


423 


way  all  the  early  Romance  languages  converted  Germanic  w  into 
gu,  Old  High  German  werra  >  Old  Spanish  guerra,  Germanic 
warjian  >  guarir,  etc.1 

English  /  becomes  New  Mexican-Spanish  /  (  >  bilabial  /  or  j ), 
fun  >  fon,  fool  >  ful,  jul.  Likewise  Germanic  initial  /  be¬ 
came  Romance  /  (often  >  bilabial  /  in  Spanish). 

RESUME 

The  influence  of  the  English  language  on  the  Spanish  of  New 
Mexico  and  Colorado  must  be  studied,  therefore,  according  to 
the  following  divisions,  the  phenomena  of  each  division  given  in 
the  order  of  relative  importance  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  com¬ 
parative  philologist : 

1.  The  study  of  the  phonetic  development  of  all  popularly  and 
regularly  developed  New  Mexican-Spanish  basic  words  of  direct 
English  source  (about  three  hundred  in  number),  a  list  of  which 
is  given  at  the  end  of  this  article. 

2.  The  study  of  the  morphological  development  of  these  words 
with  the  additional  forms  of  non-phonetic  development,  from  the 
viewpoint  of  inflection  and  conjugation,  together  with  all  deriv¬ 
atives  therefrom. 

3.  A  complete  etymological  vocabulary  of  all  the  New  Mexican- 
Spanish  words  of  English  origin,  with  all  derivatives,  proper  names, 
surnames,  names  of  places,  etc.,  with  meaning  if  different  from  the 
English. 

4.  The  study  of  the  New  Mexican-Spanish  words  and  phrases 
used  to  translate  the  English  governmental,  political,  educational, 
industrial,  farming  and  household  terminologies. 

5.  The  study  of  the  problem  of  speech  mixture  in  New  Mexican 
Spanish. 

6.  The  study  of  the  English  influence  on  New  Mexican- 
Spanish  syntax  and  general  phraseology  and  grammatical  con¬ 
struction. 

7.  The  historical,  racial,  and  political  problems.2 

1  Studies  in  New  Mexican  Spanish,  vol.  3,  §  48. 

2  Practically  all  these  problems  have  been  studied  in  detail  by  the  author  in 
various  publications ;  especially  in  The  Spanish  Language  in  New  Mexico  and 
Southern  Colorado  (Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico,  1911),  and  Studies  in  New  Mexican 


424 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


VOCABULARY 

A  complete  list  of  all  the  basic  1  New  Mexican-Spanish  words 
of  English  origin  follows.  The  English  words  from  which  the  New 
Mexican-Spanish  words  are  derived  are  given  in  all  cases.  The 
New  Mexican-Spanish  words  are  transcribed  as  accurately  as 
possible  in  the  Spanish  alphabet.  The  symbol  s  is  equivalent 
to  English  sh. 


1.  Nouns 


discrim  <  ice-cream. 
alcojol  <  ALCOHOL. 
ale  <  ALLEY. 
otovwbil  <  AUTOMOBILE. 

bdgachi  <  baggage. 
baisiquel  <  bicycle. 
balun  <  BALLOON. 
balls  <  VALISE. 
bel  <  bale  (of  hay). 

bil  <  BILL. 

bequenpaura  <  baking  powder. 

besbol  <  BASEBALL. 

bisnes  <  business. 

bisquete  <  biscuit. 

blofe  <  BLUFF. 

bogue  <  buggy. 

boil  <  boil  (furuncle). 

boila  <  boiler  (of  engine). 

bonchi  <  bunch. 

boquebor  <  buckboard. 

bos  <  BOSS. 

brande  <  brandy. 

breca  <  brake. 


brel  <  bread. 
bugabu  <  bugaboo. 
buquipa  <  book-keeper. 

cabiis  <  caboose. 
clawn  <  clown. 
dica  <  clique. 
dosete  <  closet. 
cofe  <  COFFEE. 
cumplen  <  complaint. 
craque  <  cracker. 
crismes  <  Christmas. 
crobar  <  crowbar. 
cuara  <  quarter  (coin). 
cun  <  coon. 
cuque  <  cooky. 
cute  <  COAT. 

Chales  <  Charles. 
chansa  <  chance. 
cheque  <  check. 
chipas  <  chips. 

Chochis  <  GEORGE. 
choque  <  chalk. 


Spanish,  Part  III,  The  English  Elements  of  ( Revue  de  Dialectologie  Romane,  Ham¬ 
burg,  1914). 

1  Derivatives  from  the  words  phonetically  developed  are  not  included.  These 
can  be  formed  almost  ad  libitum.  In  our  Studies,  op.  cit.,  all  these  have  been  care¬ 
fully  studied. 


SPEECH  MIXTURE  IN  NEW  MEXICO 


425 


daime  <  dime. 
daique  <  dike. 
daun  <  down  (football). 

dipo  <  DEPOT 
dola  <  DOLLAR. 

escrachi  <  scratch. 
escrapes  <  scraps. 
escrepa  <  scraper. 
escrin  <  screen. 
eslipa  <  sleeper  (car). 
esmasi  <  smash. 
espaique  <  spike. 
espelen  <  spelling. 
espicki  <  speech. 
espor  <  sport. 
espres  <  express. 
espr'm  <  spring  (bed). 
estaile  <  style. 
esteble  <  stable. 
estepes  <  steps. 
esteque  <  steak. 
estiple  <  staple. 
estr aique  <  strike. 
evrebore  <  everybody. 

faila  <  file. 
fay  a  <  fire. 
fayaman  <  fireman. 

felo  <  FELLOW. 

faul  <  foul  (baseball). 
flaya  <  flier  (train). 
fnn  <  fun. 
forman  <  foreman. 

gele  <  jelly. 

Gimes  <  jimmy. 
gobe,  <  job. 

gondeme  <  goddamn  ( =  insult). 


greve  <  gravy. 
grimbaque  <  greenback. 
griso  <  greaser  (Mexican). 
guasa  <  washer  (mech.). 
giieiste  <  waist. 
guiangue  <  gang. 

Guile  <  willy. 
giiincheste  <  winchester. 
gimque  <  whiskey. 
guoque  <  walk. 

jaira<  harrow. 
jaque<  hack. 

jolnn  <  hold  on  (  =  insult). 
juipen  <  whipping. 
juisque  <  whiskey. 
jupencofe  <  whooping  cough. 

laya  <  liar. 
lere  <  lady. 

lereschois  <  ladies'  choice. 

lis  <  LEASE. 

Ion  <  lawn  (grass). 
lone  hi  <  lunch. 
londre  <  laundry. 
lote  <  LOT. 

Hague  <  maggie. 

Maques  <  max. 

Mari,  Marri  <  marie. 
mechica  <  Mexican. 
mistar  <  mister. 
mompes  <  mumps. 
monquerreneki  <  monkey 

WRENCH. 

nicle,  niquel  <  nickel. 

otemil  <  oat  meal. 
ovarjoles  <  overalls. 


426 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


panqueque  <  pancake. 

pantre  <  pantry. 

pare  <  party  (social). 

parna  <  partner. 

pene  <  penny. 

penquila  <  painkiller. 

picha  <  pitcher  (baseball). 

picle  <  PICKLE. 

piquenique  <  picnic. 

ploga  <  plug. 

poca  <  POKER. 

polls  <  POLICE. 

ponchi  <  punch. 

pone  <  pony. 

ponsope  <  pawn  shop. 

porchi  <  porch. 

pul  <  PULL. 

pulman  <  Pullman. 

pusi  <  PUSH. 

queque  <  cake. 

quecha  <  catcher  (baseball). 

quiande  <  candy. 

quiasi  <  cash. 

quido  <  kiddo. 

quimona  <  kimono. 

quique  <  kick. 

raide  <  ride. 

rapa  <  wrapper. 

redes  <  radishes. 

reile  <  rail. 

remarca  <  remark. 

renchi  <  range. 

renganchi  <  traingang. 

reque  <  rake. 

reque  <  wreck 

resensaque  <  dressing  sack. 

rigue  <  rig. 


ril  <  DRILL. 

rinque  <  drink. 
rises  <  recess. 
roles  <  rolls. 
ro.U  <  RUSH. 
rula  <  RULER. 

saibor  <  sideboard. 
saiguoque  <  sidewalk. 
salun  <  saloon. 
sanamabichi  <  son  of  a  b  — . 
sanamagon  <  son  of  a  gun. 
sanguichi  <  sandwich. 
sarsaparila  <  sarsaparilla. 
selesute  <  sailor  suit. 
sete  <  set. 

sinque  <  sink  (kitchen). 
somil  <  SAW-MILL. 
suera  <  sweater. 
suichi  <  switch. 
suitejarte  <  sweetheart. 
sur  <  SEWER. 
sute  <  suit. 

saine  <  shine  (shoe  shine). 
sampu  <  shampoo. 
sante  <  shanty. 
serife  <  sheriff. 
so,  cho  <  show  (circus). 
sopes  <  shops. 
sorgueiste  <  shirtwaist. 
soils,  soils  <  SCHOTTISCHE. 
sotegon  <  shotgun. 

taya  <  tie  (railroad). 
telefon,  tele j on  <  telephone. 
tlquete  <  ticket. 
trampe  <  tramp. 
transe  <  transom. 
triques  <  tricks. 


SPEECH  MIXTURE  IN  NEW  MEXICO 


427 


trite  <  treat.  yarda  <  yard. 

troca  <  truck.  yel  <  yell. 

tustepe  <  two-step  (dance). 

2.  Adjectives 


broquis  <  broke  (poor). 

cranque  <  cranky. 
crese  <  crazy. 

dochi  <  dutch  (American, 
German). 

esmarte  <  smart. 
espore  <  sporty. 

fain  <  fine. 
fone  <  funny. 
fid,  jul  <  FOOL. 

griso  <  greaser. 

giiilo  <  willy  (  =  foolish). 


jaitun  <  HIGHTONED. 
mechica  <  Mexican. 
ponque  <  punk. 
quiute  <  cute. 
rede  <  ready. 

sanamabichi  <  son  of  a  b  — . 
sanamagon  <  son  of  a  gun. 
sor  <  sore  (offended). 

trampe  <  trampy  (tramp-like). 


3.  Verbs 

New  Mexican-Spanish  verbs  of  English  origin  take  the  English 


verb  as  the  stem  and  add  the 
-iar  to  form  the  infinitive. 

baquiar  <  back  +  iar. 
bonchar  <  bunch  +  (i)ar. 
bosiar  <  boss  +  iar. 

cavibasiar  <  canvass. 
craquiar  <  crack. 
cuitar  <  quit. 
chachar  <  charge. 
chequiar  <  check. 
chitiar  <  cheat. 

deschachar  <  discharge. 


regular  endings.  Nearly  all  add 

escrachar  <  scratch. 
esmasar  <  smash. 
espelialr  <  spell. 
estraiquiar  <  strike. 

fuliar  <  fool. 
jairiar  <  harrow. 
lonchar  <  lunch. 
monquiar  <  monkey. 

puliar  <  pull. 
pusar  <  push. 


428 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


quiasar  <  cash. 
quiquiar  <  kick. 

requiar  <  rake. 

riliar  <  drill. 

risquiar  <  risk. 

roseliar  <  rustle  (=  work). 

4.  Adverbs  (some 

crese  <  crazy. 

enejau  <  anyhow. 

fain(e )  <  fine. 
fone  <  FUNNY. 


suichar  <  switch. 
sainiar  <  shine. 
sutiar  <  shoot. 

telefoniar  <  telephone. 
trampiar  <  tramp  (steal). 
tritiar  <  treat. 

are  also  adjectives). 
olraite  <  all  right. 
rede  <  ready. 
tumoro  <  tomorrow. 


5.  Exclamations,  greetings,  etc. 


albechu  <  i’ll  bet  you. 
auchi  <  ouch. 

bai  bai  <  bye  bye. 

camiar  <  come  here. 
cdmon  <  come  on. 
chi  clai  <  jee  cly. 

gijuis  <  GEE  WHIS. 
godemete  <  god  damn  it. 
gorejel,  gorijel  <  GO  to  hell. 
guirepe,  guirape  <  get  up. 
gurbdi  <  good  bye. 

jalo  <  HELLO. 
jamachi  <  how  much. 
jariru  <  how  do  you  do. 


jarirusa  <  how  do  you  do,  sir. 

je  <  HEY. 

jolon  <  HOLD  ON. 

jura,  jure  <  hurrah. 

op,  opa,  ope  <  up. 

plis  <  PLEASE. 

sarap{e )  <  shut  up. 
so  <  PSHAW. 
soquis  <  SHUCKS. 

yubete  <  you  bet. 
yubechu  <  you  bet  you. 
yubechu  laif  <  you  bet  your 

LIFE. 


ST.  VRAIN’S  EXPEDITION  TO  THE  GILA  IN  1826 


Thomas  Maitland  Marshall 

The  American  fur  trade  in  the  Southwest  which  followed  the 
attainment  of  Mexican  independence  has  received  but  scant  atten¬ 
tion  from  historians,  having  been  subordinated  by  them  to  the 
merchandise  trade  over  the  Santa  Fe  trail.  This  viewpoint  is 
mainly  due  to  Gregg  and  Chittenden.  For  over  half  a  century 
Gregg’s  Commerce  of  the  Prairies  has  been  considered  the  classic 
for  southwestern  trade.  It  is  a  vivid  account  of  an  eye-witness 
who  made  eight  trips  over  the  trails.  But  there  are  two  serious 
faults  in  Gregg’s  book.  In  the  first  place  he  did  not  engage  in 
the  trade  until  1831, 1  and  his  knowledge  of  the  preceding  decades 
was  based  upon  hearsay  or  upon  a  few  books  of  travel.2  As  Gregg 
was  a  trader  in  merchandise,  a  business  which  had  practically 
superseded  the  fur  trade  by  1831,  it  was  but  natural  that  he  should 
convey  the  impression  that  the  early  trade  was  of  the  same 
nature  as  the  later.  Our  other  great  authority  is  Chittenden,3 
whose  admirable  history  of  the  fur  trade  of  the  Far  West  has  fre¬ 
quently  been  considered  the  last  word  on  the  subject.  But  Chit¬ 
tenden  was  strongly  influenced  by  Gregg  and  the  full  significance 
of  the  southwestern  fur  trade  did  not  dawn  upon  him.  He  added 
considerable  data,  however,  by  using  Fowler’s  Journal ,4  Pattie’s 
Personal  Narrative ,5  the  files  of  the  Missouri  Intelligencer,  and 
some  other  materials.  But  the  footnotes  in  Bancroft’s  History 

1  Gregg,  Commerce  of  the  Prairies  (New  York,  1845),  vol.  1,  pp.  v-vi.  The  most 
accessible  edition  is  in  Thwaites,  Early  Western  Travels,  vols.  f9-20. 

2  The  books  used  by  Gregg  were  Irving,  Tour  of  the  Prairies  (Philadelphia, 
1835) ;  Murray,  Travels  in  the  United  States  (London,  1839) ;  and  Hoffman,  A  Winter 
in  the  West  (New  York  and  London,  1835).  See  Early  Western  Travels,  vol.  19, 

p.  161. 

3  Chittenden,  The  American  Fur  Trade  of  the  Far  West  (New  York,  1902),  3  vols. 

4  The  Journal  of  Jacob  Fowler,  Elliott  Coues,  ed.  (New  York,  1898). 

6  The  Personal  Narrative  of  James  O.  Pattie  of  Kentucky  (Cincinnati,  1831). 
Reprinted  in  Early  Western  Travels,  vol.  18. 

429 


430 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  1  disclose  a  mass  of  material  which 
Chittenden  apparently  did  not  examine.  Still  another  unused 
source,  which  would  have  thrown  light  on  the  subject,  is  the  docu¬ 
mentary  material  in  the  archives  of  Mexico.  Many  of  the  trans¬ 
actions  of  the  fur  traders  within  Mexican  territory  were  surrepti¬ 
tious,  and  just  as  it  is  difficult  to  get  at  the  truth  about  piracy 
and  smuggling,  so  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  information  about 
southwestern  fur  traders.  They  left  few  documents,  and  those 
few  were  usually  but  adorned  tales.  The  views  of  Mexican  offi¬ 
cials  are  as  valuable  in  explaining  the  history  of  the  fur  trade  as 
are  the  reports  of  the  English  colonial  customs  officials,  or  the 
records  of  court  proceedings  in  trials  of  piracy. 

The  following  account  of  Ceran  St.  Vrain’s  expedition  to  the 
Gila  in  1826  is  based  upon  this  class  of  materials,  three  expedientes 
being  used.  One  is  to  be  found  in  the  archives  of  the  State  of 
Sonora  at  Hermosillo,  Tomo  42,  number  7 ;  the  others  are  in  the 
Archivo  de  Gobernacion  at  Mexico  City ;  one  being  in  the  division 
Comercio,  number  44 ;  the  other  in  the  same  archive,  in  the  divi¬ 
sion  of  Jefes  Politicos,  1831-1833,  being  legajo  59,  expediente 
number  1,  folio  28.  These  expedientes  comprise  thirty  pages. 
Many  of  the  documents  are  extremely  difficult,  being  in  colloquial 
Spanish,  frequently  spelled  phonetically,  and  being  innocent  of 
accents.2 

Up  to  the  present  time  our  knowledge  of  St.  Vrain’s  expedition 
has  been  based  upon  Inman’s  Old  Santa  Fe  Trail 3  and  upon  Chit¬ 
tenden.  Inman  says  that  late  in  the  spring  of  1826  Kit  Carson 
joined  an  expedition  gotten  up  by  Ceran  St.  Vrain,  which  was 
destined  for  the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  left  Fort  Osage  one  morn¬ 
ing  in  May  and  “in  a  few  hours  turned  abruptly  to  the  west  on 
the  broad  Trail  to  the  mountains.”  As  to  the  exact  destination 
the  author  fails  to  enlighten  us,  due  no  doubt  to  the  fact  that  his 
object  in  introducing  this  bit  of  information  was  to  tell  the  story 
of  a  fight  with  the  Pawnees. 

Chittenden  says  regarding  the  expedition,  “It  appears  that  in 
September  of  this  year  a  party  under  Ceran  St.  Vrain  (if  we  may 

1  H.  H.  Bancroft,  History  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  (San  Francisco,  1889) , 
pp.  297-299,  332-338. 

2  The  transcripts  used  by  me  are  in  Professor  Bolton’s  personal  collection. 

3  Henry  Inman,  The  Old  Santa  FS  Trail  (Topeka,  1914),  pp.  406-410. 


ST.  VRAIN’S  EXPEDITION  TO  THE  GILA  IN  1826  431 


trust  Inman)  set  out  for  Santa  Fe,  arriving  there  in  November; 
in  this  party  was  a  runaway  boy,  Kit  Carson,  then  17  years  old.”  1 
But  it  is  evident  that  in  spite  of  his  citation  of  Inman,  Chittenden 
did  not  follow  that  author  faithfully.  Inman  says  that  St.  Vrain 
started  in  May,  Chittenden  says  in  September.  Chittenden’s 
method  of  arriving  at  his  conclusion  that  the  date  should  be 
changed  is  found  when  we  examine  the  sources  of  information 
regarding  Kit  Carson.  In  the  Missouri  Intelligencer  of  October 
12,  1826,  appeared  an  advertisement  inserted  by  David  Workman, 
to  whom  Carson  was  apprenticed,  which  stated  that  on  or  about 
September  1,  Kit  ran  away.2  Peters  in  his  biography  of  Carson 
says  that  he  arrived  in  Santa  Fe  in  November,3  a  statement  which 
is  followed  by  Sabin  in  his  recent  work.4  Chittenden  appears 
to  have  changed  the  date  as  given  by  Inman  to  fit  the  information 
which  he  obtained  from  the  Missouri  Intelligencer  and  Peters. 
The  statements  of  both  authors  are  incorrect,  at  least  in  part. 
Inman  was  probably  right,  as  will  be  shown  later,  in  placing  the 
departure  of  St.  Vrain’s  expedition  in  May,  1826,  but  he  was 
wrong  in  supposing  that  Carson  accompanied  the  expedition,  for 
Workman’s  advertisement,  which  appears  to  be  good  evidence, 
shows  that  Kit  was  in  Missouri  until  about  September  1.  Chit¬ 
tenden  unfortunately  changed  the  only  correct  part  of  Inman’s 
statement. 

Let  us  now  abandon  the  historians  and  examine  the  documents. 
On  August  29,  1826,  Antonio  Narbona,  Governor  of  New  Mexico, 
issued  at  Santa  Fe  the  following  passport :  “  For  the  present  freely 
grant  and  secure  passport  to  the  foreigners,  S.  W.  Williams  and 
Seran  Sambrano  [Ceran  St.  Vrain],  who  with  thirty-five  men  of 
the  same  nation,  their  servants,  pass  to  the  state  of  Sonora  for 
private  trade ;  by  all  authority  to  my  subordinates,  none  are  to 
offer  any  embarrassment  on  this  march.”  5  We  cannot  be  cer¬ 
tain  of  the  exact  date  of  the  arrival  of  St.  Vrain  at  Santa  Fe,  but 
if  we  accept  Inman’s  statement  that  the  expedition  left  Missouri 
early  in  May,  it  is  probable  that  the  arrival  in  the  Mexican  settle- 

1  Chittenden,  The  American  Fur  Trade  of  the  Far  West,  vol.  2,  pp.  508-509. 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  538-539. 

3  Dewitt  C.  Peters.  Pioneer  Life  and  Frontier  Adventures  (Boston,  1873),  p.  30. 

4  Edwin  L.  Sabin,  Kit  Carson  Days  (Chicago,  1914),  p.  27. 

6  Archivo  del  Gobierno  del  Estado  de  Sonora  (Hermosillo),  Tomo  42,  No.  7, 
1826. 


432 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


ments  occurred  in  the  latter  part  of  June.  This  would  give  them 
two  months  to  dispose  of  their  merchandise  and  unravel  the  red 
tape  connected  with  the  procuring  of  a  passport. 

As  to  the  number  on  the  expedition,  the  passport  which  states 
that  there  were  thirty-five  besides  the  leaders,  would  seem  to  be 
good  evidence,  but  in  a  letter  from  Narbona  to  the  governor  of 
Sonora,  written  two  days  after  the  issuance  of  the  passport,  the 
number  is  given  as  about  a  hundred.  A  complaint  made  on  Octo¬ 
ber  26,  1826,  by  James  Baird  to  Alexandra  Ramirez,  the  president 
of  the  El  Paso  district,  stated  that  there  were  over  a  hundred  on 
the  expedition.  Ramirez  in  a  letter  to  Jose  Antonio  Arce,  the 
vice-governor  of  Chihuahua,  on  December  20,  1826,  wrote  that 
the  reports  which  he  had  gathered  showed  a  discrepancy  in  num¬ 
bers,  but  that  most  of  them  agreed  that  there  were  not  less  than 
sixty.  Owing  to  the  detailed  information  given  by  Narbona  to 
the  governor  of  Sonora  and  to  the  fact  that  the  statements  of 
Narbona  and  Baird  practically  agree,  it  seems  safe  to  conclude 
that  there  were  about  a  hundred  in  the  expedition.1 

As  to  the  personnel  the  documents  disclose  eleven  names  : 
Williams,  whose  initials  are  variously  given  as  S.  W.  and  J.,  Ceran 
and  Julian  St.  Vrain,  E.  Bure,  Alexander  Branch,  Louis  Dolton, 
Stone,  John  Rueland  or  Roles,2  Miguel  Robideau,  Pratt,  and 
Joaquin  Joon.3 

It  is  impossible  to  determine  the  exact  route  of  the  expedition 
to  New  Mexico.  It  probably  crossed  the  plains  from  Fort  Osage 
to  the  neighborhood  of  Pawnee  Rock,  a  well-known  point  on  the 
Santa  Fe  Trail,4  then  by  an  uncertain  route  to  Taos,  the  point  of 

1  Archivo  de  Gobernacion  (Mexico),  Comereio,  Expediente  44.  The  import¬ 
ance  of  this  is  realized  when  we  find  that  according  to  Gregg  ( Commerce  of  the 
Prairies ,  vol.  2,  p.  160)  in  1826  the  total  number  engaged  in  the  Santa  F6  trade 
was  a  hundred  men. 

2  Archivo  del  Gobierno  del  Estado  de  Sonora  (Hermosillo) ,  Tomo  42,  No.  7,  1826. 

3  Archivo  de  Gobernacidn  (Mexico),  Comereio,  Expediente  44.  As  to  the 
identity  of  these  men  we  have  some  data.  The  St.  Vrains  were  later  partners  of 
the  well-known  firm  of  Bent  and  St.  Vrain.  Robideau  or  Robidoux  was  a  famous 
fur  trader.  Pratt  was  known  as  a  caravan  proprietor.  Of  Williams  we  cannot 
be  so  certain.  An  Ezekiel  Williams  was  a  fur  trader  who  was  the  hero  of  Coyner’s 
Lost  Trappers,  a  fanciful  tale  of  the  early  traders.  (A  Wilson  Williams  was  in  the 
employ  of  Jedediah  Smith.  H.  E.  B.)  A  Lewis  Dawson,  perhaps  the  Louis  Dolton 
of  the  documents,  accompanied  Glenn  and  Fowler  in  1821,  but  according  to  Fowler’s 
Journal  he  was  killed  by  a  bear  in  November  of  that  year.  This  may  be  a  con¬ 
venient  way  of  accounting  to  the  people  at  home  for  the  disappearance  of  one  of 
the  party.  Professor  Joseph  Schafer,  in  a  personal  letter  to  me,  suggests  that 
Joaquin  Joon  was  Ewing  Young. 

4  Inman,  The  Old  Santa  Fe  Trail,  p.  406. 


ST.  VRAIN’S  EXPEDITION  TO  THE  GILA  IN  1826  433 


entry  of  most  of  the  early  expeditions.1  As  to  whether  the  whole 
party  went  to  Santa  Fe,  it  is  also  uncertain.  In  the  Glenn  expedi¬ 
tion  of  1821-1822  the  trappers  remained  at  Taos  while  the  leader 
went  to  Santa  Fe.2  The  same  thing  may  have  occurred  in  this 
instance. 

At  Santa  Fe  or  Taos,  and  probably  the  latter,  the  expedition 
was  divided  into  four  parts,  no  doubt  for  convenience  in  trapping 
on  the  various  streams.  Williams  and  Ceran  St.  Vrain  led  one 
party  of  twenty-odd,  Robideau  and  Pratt  one  of  thirty-odd,  John 
Roles  a  third  of  eighteen,  and  Joaquin  Joon  one  of  similar  size.3 
Having  organized,  the  four  parties  made  for  the  uninhabited 
regions  of  the  west  to  trap  on  the  Gila,  San  Francisco,  and  Colo¬ 
rado  rivers.4  In  the  documents  we  hear  of  them  at  various  points, 
now  at  the  Santa  Rita  Copper  Mines,5  now  twelve  men  appear 
at  Zuni,  now  near  Tucson.6  On  October  28,  1826,  information 
arrived  at  the  presidio  of  Tucson  that  sixteen  men  were  in  that 
region.  A  troop  of  soldiers  was  sent  out  to  find  them.  Near  the 
Gila  the  party  met  seven  Indians  who  had  been  hunting  in  the 
neighborhood,  who  reported  that  the  foreigners  had  gone  by  the 
Apache  trail  three  days  before,  and  that  because  of  their  start, 
it  was  useless  to  follow  them.7  It  is  evident  from  this  that  at 
least  part  of  them  had  gone  into  the  Apache  country,  which  lay 
north  of  the  Gila. 

The  documents  from  which  we  have  gleaned  these  facts  also 
throw  much  light  on  the  methods,  not  only  of  these  traders,  but 
of  other  expeditions  of  the  period.  Of  these  documents,  the  most 
illuminating  is  the  complaint  of  a  Missourian  named  James  Baird, 
made  at  El  Paso  on  October  21,  1826.  The  full  bearing  as  well  as 
the  humor  of  this  document  cannot  be  appreciated  until  the  past 
history  of  Baird  is  known.  In  1812  Robert  McKnight,  Samuel 
Chambers,  and  James  Baird  went  from  Missouri  to  Santa  Fe. 

1  Fowler,  Journal,  pp.  104-106  ;  Narbonato  the  Minister  of  Interior  and  Foreign 
Relations,  September  30,  1826,  in  Archivo  de  Gobernacidn  (Mexico),  Comercio, 
Expediente  44. 

2  Fowler,  Journal,  pp.  95,  137. 

3  Narbona  to  the  governor  of  Sonora,  August  31,  1826,  in  Archivo  de  Goberna- 
ci6n  (Mexico),  Comercio,  Expediente  44. 

4  Narbona  to  the  Minister  of  Interior  and  Foreign  Relations,  September  30, 
1826,  in  ibid. 

6  Ramirez  to  the  governor  of  Chihuahua,  December  20,  1826,  in  ibid. 

6  Archivo  del  Gobierno  del  Estado  de  Sonora  (Hermosillo),  Tomo  42,  No.  7,  1826. 

7  The  alcalde  of  Tucson  to  the  governor  of  Sonora,  November  4,  1826,  in  ibid. 


434 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


They  were  arrested  by  the  Spanish  authorities  and  sent  to  Chi¬ 
huahua,  where  they  were  imprisoned  for  nine  years.  In  1821, 
when  Mexico  attained  her  independence,  John  McKnight,  a 
brother  of  Robert,  obtained  their  release.1  In  1822  Baird  and 
Chambers  led  an  expedition  of  fifty  men  from  Franklin,  Missouri, 
to  Santa  Fe.2  At  this  point  Baird  drops  out  of  sight  so  far  as  the 
historians  are  concerned.  But  the  following  complaint  made  at 
El  Paso  shows  that  he  remained  in  New  Mexico  and  became  a 
Mexican  citizen,  that  he  engaged  in  the  fur  trade  and  in  1826 
was  trying  to  keep  Americans  out  of  the  field.  The  statement 
that  for  fourteen  years  he  had  been  a  citizen  of  Mexico  and  the 
frequent  reiterations  of  his  fidelity  are  highly  humorous  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  nine  out  of  the  fourteen  years  were  spent  in  a  Mexican 
jail. 

Baird’s  statement  is  as  follows:  “For  fourteen  years  I  have 
resided  in  the  provinces,  wherein,  according  to  the  plan  of  Yguala, 
I  entered  upon  the  enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  Mexican  citizen¬ 
ship,  devoting  myself  for  some  time  to  beaver  hunting,  in  which 
occupation  I  invested  my  small  means  with  the  purpose  of  form¬ 
ing  a  methodical  expedition  which  might  bring  profit  to  me  and 
to  those  fellow  citizens,  who  would  necessarily  accompany  me 
in  the  said  expedition.  I  was  moved  to  this  project  by  the  pro¬ 
tection  afforded  by  the  laws  to  Mexican  citizens  in  the  employ¬ 
ment  of  their  faculties  to  their  own  advantage  and  which  excluded 
by  special  decrees  all  foreigners  from  trapping  and  hunting,  which 
they  might  undertake  in  the  rivers  and  woods  of  the  federation, 
especially  that  of  beaver,  since  it  is  the  most  precious  product 
which  this  territory  produces.  And  although  it  is  known  to  me 
that  for  a  year  and  a  half  past  they  have  clandestinely  extracted 
a  large  quantity  of  peltry,  exceeding  $100,000  in  value,  I  have 
kept  still,  knowing  that  this  exploration  had  been  made  by  small 
parties ;  but  now,  being  ready  to  set  out  upon  the  expedition  of 
which  I  have  spoken,  I  have  learned  that  with  scandal  and  con¬ 
tempt  for  the  Mexican  nation  a  hundred-odd  Anglo-Americans 
have  introduced  themselves  in  a  body  to  hunt  beaver  in  the  pos¬ 
sessions  of  this  state  and  that  of  Sonora  to  which  the  Rio  Gila 

1  Chittenden,  The  Fur  Trade  of  the  Far  West,  vol.  2,  pp.  496-497. 

1  Ibid.,  p.  504. 


ST.  VRAIN’S  EXPEDITION  TO  THE  GILA  IN  1826  435 


belongs,  and  with  such  arrogance  and  haughtiness  that  they  have 
openly  said  that  in  spite  of  the  Mexicans,  they  will  hunt  beaver 
wherever  they  please ;  to  protect  their  expedition,  they  are  carry¬ 
ing  powder  and  balls,  in  consequence  of  which  no  one  is  able  to 
restrain  them.  In  view  of  these  circumstances,  I  believe  that  it 
is  a  bounden  duty  of  every  citizen,  who  has  the  honor  to  belong 
to  the  great  Mexican  nation,  to  make  known  to  his  superior 
government  the  extraordinary  conduct  which  the  foreigners  ob¬ 
serve  in  our  possessions,  which  transgressions  may  be  harmful, 
both  on  account  of  the  insult  which  they  cast  upon  the  nation  by 
despising  our  laws  and  decrees  as  well  as  through  the  damage 
which  they  do  the  said  nation  by  the  extinction  which  inevitably 
will  follow  of  a  product  so  useful  and  so  valuable.  I  ought  to 
protest,  as  I  do,  that  in  making  this  report,  I  am  not  moved  so 
much  by  personal  interest  as  by  the  honor  and  general  welfare  of 
the  nation  to  which  I  have  heartily  joined.  In  view  of  the  fore¬ 
going,  I  beg  that  Your  Excellency  may  make  such  provisions 
as  you  may  deem  proper,  to  the  end  that  the  national  laws  may 
be  respected  and  that  foreigners  may  be  confined  to  the  limits 
which  the  same  laws  permit  them,  and  that  we  Mexicans  may 
peacefully  profit  by  the  goods  with  which  the  merciful  God  has 
been  pleased  to  enrich  our  soil  .  .  .  ”  1 

The  complaint  of  Baird  brought  prompt  action  on  the  part  of 
the  Mexican  officials.  Alexandra  Ramirez,  the  president  of  the 
district  of  El  Paso,  informed  the  governor  of  Chihuahua,  who  sent 
back  orders  that  Ramirez  was  to  report  concerning  the  expedition 
as  to  numbers,  passports,  places  visited,  and  destination.2  Similar 
orders  were  sent  to  the  alcalde  of  Tucson,3  and  to  the  comandante 
general  and  jefe  politico  of  New  Mexico.4 

On  December  20,  1826,  Ramirez  wrote  to  the  government  at 
Chihuahua  that  he  was  not  certain  of  the  numbers  and  that  he 
had  heard  that  they  were  hunting  near  the  Real  de  San  Francisco 
in  the  state  of  Sonora.  “Up  to  the  present  time,”  he  said,  “they 
have  not  been  at  other  points  in  this  state  in  the  present  year, 

1  Archivo  de  Gobernacion  (Mexico)  Comercio,  Expediente  44. 

2  Ibid. 

3  Archivo  del  Gobierno  del  Estado  de  Sonora  (Hermosillo),  Tomo  42,  No.  7, 
1826. 

4  Archivo  de  Gobemacidn  (Mexico)  Comercio,  Expediente  44. 


436 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


but  in  the  previous  years  they  have  hunted  all  along  the  river  of 
this  jurisdiction,  [the  Rio  Grande]  securing  a  quantity  of  beaver 
peltry,  without  having  been  disturbed  by  the  former  judges,  or 
even  made  to  pay  a  tax  for  their  extraction.”  He  confirmed  the 
statement  of  Baird  that  they  had  talked  in  an  insolent  manner.1 

Even  before  the  complaint  of  Baird  was  lodged,  the  actions 
of  the  traders  had  disturbed  Governor  Narbona.  Two  days  after 
the  granting  of  the  passport  to  Williams  and  St.  Vrain  he  had 
warned  the  governor  of  Sonora  that  the  Americans  were  going  on 
a  secret  hunting  trip  to  the  rivers  of  Sonora  “to  the  known  injury 
of  our  public  treasury,  in  infraction  of  our  laws.”  He  stated  that 
his  suspicions  were  aroused  by  the  large  number  and  by  the  ques¬ 
tions  which  they  asked  when  they  demanded  passports.  He 
further  observed  that  they  were  “all  without  trade  or  other  visible 
object.”  2  On  September  30  Narbona  wrote  to  the  minister  of 
interior  and  foreign  relations,  “I  am  suspicious  that  the  Anglo- 
Americans,  who  are  returning  to  their  country,  are  lingering  a 
long  time,  as  they  are  retiring  from  the  inhabited  places  along  the 
banks  of  the  rivers  in  the  pursuit  of  beaver  trapping  and  they  do 
the  same  in  the  center  of  the  states  of  Sonora  and  Chihuahua.” 
He  complained  of  a  lack  of  cavalry  to  patrol  the  frontier,  saying 
that  with  the  greatest  difficulty  he  had  maintained  ten  men  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Taos.  He  also  said  that  unless  something  was 
done  at  once  the  beaver  would  soon  become  extinct  in  that  region. 
In  the  letter  Narbona  betrays  his  anxiety.  He  had  granted  the 
Americans  a  right  to  trade,  but  now  was  trying  to  make  the  author¬ 
ities  at  Mexico  City  believe  that  he  had  granted  the  traders  a 
passport  to  leave  the  country  and  that  they  had  violated  their 
privileges  by  trapping  instead  of  leaving.3  In  a  letter  to  the  gov¬ 
ernor  of  Chihuahua  on  February  14,  1827,  Narbona  again  pointed 
out  the  inadequacy  of  his  forces  to  patrol  the  frontier.  He  said 
that  there  were  many  foreigners  in  the  country  without  permits, 
a  condition  which  had  existed  since  1822,  the  year,  according  to 
the  governor,  that  Americans  began  to  penetrate  into  the  country.4 

Still  further  light  is  thrown  on  the  operations  of  the  traders 
and  on  the  Santa  Fe  officials  in  a  report  from  Chihuahua  made  to 

1  Archivo  de  Gobernacion  (Mexico)  Comercio,  Expediente  44.  3  Ibid. 

2  Narbona  to  the  Governor  of  Sonora,  August  31,  1826,  in  ibid.  4  Ibid. 


ST.  VRAIN’S  EXPEDITION  TO  THE  GILA  IN  1826  437 


the  central  government  in  1831,  but  which  was  based  largely 
upon  observations  made  in  1827.  The  report  in  part  says,  “The 
taking  of  peltries  of  beaver  is  a  branch  of  trade  profitable  only 
for  the  Anglo-Americans,  who  make  up  hunting  parties  and  also 
establishments  for  them  which  last  several  months ;  as  a  result 
the  species  will  soon  be  destroyed.”  In  the  report  was  embodied 
a  statement  from  Don  Rafael  Sarracino,  who  had  been  in  New 
Mexico  in  1827.  Sarracino’s  statement  ran  as  follows:  “The 
Anglo-Americans,  well  provided  with  arms  and  instruments  for 
hunting,  particularly  for  beaver,  are  purchasing  of  the  inhabit¬ 
ants  of  Santa  Fe  the  license  which  they  in  their  name  obtain  from 
the  judge  of  that  capital,  for  making  a  hunt  for  a  certain  length 
of  time  and  in  certain  places,  which  the  same  judge  designates 
for  many  leagues  distance  in  the  mountains  and  deserts  which 
the  Rio  Bravo  [Rio  Grande]  washes ;  with  the  subterfuge  of  the 
license,  the  Anglo-Americans  are  attacking  the  species  without 
limit  or  consideration  and  are  getting  alarming  quantities  of  pel¬ 
tries,  frequently  without  paying  even  an  eighth  of  the  customs 
to  the  treasury.  Formerly  they  refused  [to  pay]  so  much  that  in 
1827,  (I  being  in  Santa  Fe)  I  was  acquainted  with  an  arrange¬ 
ment  which  they  made  with  a  wretch  named  Don  Luis  Cabeza 
de  Vaca,  the  miserable  fellow,  that  he  should  receive  smuggled 
goods  in  his  house  which  he  has  in  the  desert ;  and  a  man  of  like 
port,  for  resisting  the  attack  on  the  house,  was  unfortunately 
killed  by  a  bullet  wound  which  was  directed  by  the  soldiers  who 
assisted  the  alcalde  in  capturing  [it].  The  alcalde  succeeded  in 
getting  twenty-nine  tercios  [tierces]  of  very  valuable  beaver  skins, 
which  were  forfeited  in  the  course  of  that  summer  in  the  store¬ 
houses  of  the  deputy-commissioner  of  the  territory.  .  .  ,”1 

The  letters  of  Narbona,  the  complaint  of  Baird,  and  the  result¬ 
ing  inquiry  aroused  the  Mexican  government.  In  March,  1827, 
the  vice-governor  of  Chihuahua  sent  the  documents,  which  had 
been  collected  from  the  officials  of  New  Mexico  and  Sonora,  to 
the  secretary  of  state  for  foreign  relations,  and  on  April  5  a 
protest  was  made  to  Poinsett,  the  United  States  minister,  in  which 


1  Ygnacio  Madrid  to  the  Secretary  of  State  and  Foreign  Relations,  April  14, 
1831,  Archivo  de  la  Secretaria  de  Gobernaci6n  (Mexico),  Jefes  Politicos,  pp.  1831- 
1833,  Expediente  1,  Leg.  59,  IT.  28. 


438 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


he  was  asked  to  have  his  government  restrain  the  traders.  On  the 
ninth  Poinsett  replied,  expressing  his  regret  at  the  infraction  of 
the  laws  by  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  assuring  the  Mexi¬ 
can  government  that  he  would  submit  the  request  to  his  govern¬ 
ment,  “with  full  confidence  that  it  will  adopt  measures,  as  the  laws 
permit,  to  stop  the  repetition  of  similar  acts  on  the  part  of  citizens 
of  the  United  States.”  1  I  have  found  no  evidence  to  show,  how¬ 
ever,  that  the  United  States  took  any  action  to  restrain  the  traders. 

In  the  light  of  the  evidence,  it  seems  fair  to  assume  that  the 
history  of  the  Santa  Fe  trade  must  be  revised,  giving  the  fur 
trader  his  place  beside  or  ahead  of  the  merchant.  St.  Vrain’s 
expedition  was  only  one  of  many  similar  enterprises.  It  was 
chosen  as  the  central  theme  of  this  paper  because  the  documents 
which  have  thus  far  been  gathered  are  more  complete  on  this 
expedition  than  on  others.  But  the  archives  of  Mexico  have 
only  begun  to  give  up  their  stores.  The  writer  has  seen  enough 
in  these  and  other  documents  to  convince  him  that  the  history  of 
the  Santa  Fe  Trail  has  not  yet  been  written. 


5  Archivo  de  Gobernacion  (Mexico),  Comercio,  Expediente  44. 


THE  CAUSES  FOR  THE  FAILURE  OF  OTERMIN’S 
ATTEMPT  TO  RECONQUER  NEW  MEXICO,  1681-82 

Charles  W.  Hackett 

The  occasion  for  a  discussion  of  the  causes  for  the  failure  of 
Governor  Otermm’s  attempt  to  reconquer  New  Mexico  in  the 
winter  of  1681-82,  as  well  as  for  a  new  and  intensive  study  of  the 
broader  field  of  which  it  is  a  part,  namely,  the  Pueblo  revolt  and 
the  reconquest,  is  the  recent  acquisition  of  hitherto  unused  sources 
from  the  Mexican  and  Spanish  archives.  These  sources,  collated 
with  materials  in  the  New  Mexico  archives,  the  Bancroft  Collec¬ 
tion,  and  the  Peabody  Museum,  cause  the  whole  subject  to  be 
seen  in  a  new  and  different  light.  In  the  present  paper  a  meagre 
sketch  of  the  narrative  of  the  Otermm  expedition,  the  outlines 
of  which  are  already  well  known,  will  be  necessary,  but  emphasis 
will  be  laid  not  only  upon  the  actual  causes  for  the  failure  of  the 
expedition,  but  upon  some  of  the  most  important  related  facts 
upon  which  new  light  has  been  thrown. 

As  a  result  of  the  Pueblo  uprising  in  New  Mexico  in  August 
1680,  in  which  three  hundred  and  eighty  civilians  and  twenty-one 
missionaries  lost  their  lives,  the  survivors,  numbering  over  two 
thousand  five  hundred  souls,  including  three  hundred  and  seven¬ 
teen  Indian  allies,  retreated  under  the  leadership  of  their  governor, 
Don  Antonio  de  Oterrmn,  to  the  monastery  of  Nuestra  Senora 
de  Guadalupe  del  Paso.  There  succor  was  had  for  the  half- 
starved,  half-naked,  and  foot-sore  refugees,  through  the  kindness 
of  Father  Ay  eta,  the  Franciscan  custodio  and  procurador  general 
of  the  province,  who  fortunately  had  just  arrived  at  El  Paso  from 
the  city  of  Mexico  with  a  wagon  train  of  supplies  for  the  mission¬ 
aries  of  the  province.  There  a  halt  was  called  and  temporary 
settlements  were  established  in  the  vicinity  of  Guadalupe  del 

439 


440 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Paso.  At  San  Lorenzo,  one  of  these  settlements  located  about 
twenty-five  miles  below  the  pueblo  of  El  Paso,  headquarters  for 
the  governor  and  for  the  cabildo  of  Santa  Fe  were  established,  and 
there  the  provincial  form  of  government  was  maintained  in  all 
of  its  detail.1 

In  December  Father  Ayeta  went  to  Mexico  City,  carrying  with 
him  the  official  records  of  the  revolt  and  of  the  retreat,  and  various 
petitions  from  the  governor  and  leading  citizens  for  supplies  so 
that  they  might  attempt  a  reconquest  of  the  lost  province.  On 
January  7,  1681,  the  Junta  General  began  a  consideration  of  the 
New  Mexican  situation  and  by  the  end  of  the  month  had  arrived 
at  a  decision.  The  refugees  were  to  be  supplied  with  corn  and 
meat  until  October  1  at  royal  expense ;  grain  and  implements  for 
farming  were  to  be  furnished  so  that  the  settlers  might  become 
self-sustaining ;  money  was  allowed  for  one  hundred  and  fifty 
pobladores,  or  settlers,  at  an  annual  stipend  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  pesos  each ;  fifty  soldiers,  at  the  current  wage  of  three  hundred 
and  fifteen  pesos  annually,  were  provided  for  a  presidio,  which  was 
to  remain  at  El  Paso  until  the  province  was  reconquered ;  and 
last  and  most  important  of  all,  orders  were  given  for  Otermm 
to  attempt  at  once  a  reconquest  of  New  Mexico  so  that  the  refu¬ 
gees  might  return  to  their  ruined  homes.  It  is  thus  seen  that 
the  settlement  of  the  New  Mexico  refugees  at  El  Paso  was  intended 
to  be  only  temporary.  To  Father  Ayeta  the  Junta  General  on 
February  1,  1681,  assigned  the  duty  of  conducting  the  relief  train 
to  El  Paso  and  of  carrying  the  orders  of  the  superior  government 
to  Governor  Otermm.2 

In  the  meantime  conditions  at  El  Paso  had  been  going  from 
bad  to  worse  and  before  Father  Ayeta  finally  arrived  a  number 
of  serious  dangers  had  arisen.  In  March  news  had  come  that 
the  Pueblos,  allied  with  the  Apaches,  were  planning  to  attack  El 


1  See  Hackett,  The  Revolt  of  the  Pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico  in  1680,  in  The 
Quarterly  of  the  Texas  State  Historical  Association,  vol.  15,  pp.  93-147  ;  and  The 
Retreat  of  the  Spaniards  from  New  Mexico  in  1680,  and  the  Beginnings  of  El  Paso, 
in  The  Southwestern  Historical  Quarterly,  vol.  16,  pp.  137-168,  and  259-276. 

2  Auttos  tocantes ;  dl  Alsamiento  de  Los  Yndios  de  la  Provincia  de  la  Nueba  Mexico, 
folios  92-121.  Mss.  in  the  Archivo  General  y  Publico  de  Mexico,  Provincias 
Internas,  tomo  37.  (See  Bolton,  Guide  to  Materials  for  the  History  of  the  United 
States  in  the  Principal  Archives  of  Mexico,  94.)  Transcripts  of  the  documents  in 
the  above-cited  expediente  are  now  in  the  private  collection  of  Dr.  Herbert  E. 
Bolton,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  their  use. 


THE  CAUSES  OF  OTERMlN’S  FAILURE 


441 


Paso,  in  which  they  expected  to  be  joined  by  the  Christian  Pueblos 
there  and  by  the  native  Mansos  and  Sumas  Indians.1  The  supplies 
furnished  by  Father  Ayeta  had  only  been  calculated  to  last  until 
March  1,  1681,  at  which  time  it  was  thought  succor  could  be  had 
from  Mexico  City.  By  April  5,  however,  no  word  had  come  from 
there  and  the  store  of  supplies  had  run  so  low  that  unless  replen¬ 
ished  it  could  last  the  settlers  only  thirty  more  days.  Urgent 
appeals  for  help  were  sent  to  the  governor  of  Nueva  Vizcaya,  and 
foraging  expeditions  were  sent  to  Casas  Grandes  and  Parral  to 
buy  grain  and  cattle  on  the  credit  of  the  governor’s  name.2  In 
July  the  Piros  and  Tigua  allies  had  plans  all  laid  to  revolt,  kill 
as  many  Spaniards  as  possible  and  then  return  to  their  pueblos ; 
but  these  plans  were  discovered  in  time  to  be  suppressed.3  Many 
of  the  refugees  had  deserted  upon  their  arrival  at  El  Paso,  and  in 
the  face  of  starvation  and  danger  of  Indian  attacks  discontent 
was  so  strong  that  many  others  left  their  families  in  El  Paso 
and  went  to  Casas  Grandes,  Parral,  and  other  adjacent  places  in 
search  of  individual  succor,  while  others  deserted  in  the  full  sense 
of  the  word.  In  short,  matters  were  such  that  Governor  Otermm 
officially  recorded  his  belief  that  if  the  situation  was  not  relieved 
soon  El  Paso  would  either  have  to  be  abandoned,  thereby  in¬ 
creasing  the  risk  to  all  northern  New  Spain,  or  the  settlers  must 
needs  die  of  starvation.4 

It  was  not  until  September  7,  1681,  that  Father  Ayeta  reached 
San  Lorenzo  with  the  belated  train  of  supplies  from  Mexico  City 
and  the  orders  from  the  superior  government  for  Otermm  to  at¬ 
tempt  a  reconquest  of  the  province.  But  before  his  arrival  the 
news  that  the  viceroy  and  Junta  General  had  given  instructions 
for  Otermm  to  lead  a  military  expedition  to  New  Mexico  had 
been  received,  and  an  official  announcement  had  been  made  at 
both  San  Lorenzo  and  the  pueblo  of  El  Paso  nearly  a  week  before 


1  Tanto  Sacado  a  la  Letra  de  los  autos  fulminados  de  los  Indios  que  Binieron  del 
nuevomex0.  llamados  Alonsso  Shimitigua  Baltasar  y  thomas  que  su  Thenor  a  la  letra 
es  Como  se  Sigue,  folios  1-8.  Mss.  in  the  Bancroft  Collection. 

2  Expedients ,  No.  4,  folios  1-9.  Original  Mss.,  in  the  New  Mexico  Archives  at 
the  Library  of  Congress.  (See  Twitchell,  The  Spanish  Archives  of  New  Mexico, 
vol.  2,  pp.  3-4.) 

3  Expedients,  No.  7,  folios  1-16  (incomplete)  in  ibid.  (See  Twitchell,  op.  cit., 
69-70)  ;  folios  17-18.  These  two  folios  of  the  ex pediente,  having  become  separated 
from  the  rest,  are  in  the  Bancroft  Collection. 

4  Expediente.  No.  4,  folios  1  and  9,  in  ibid. 


442 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


the  arrival  of  Father  Ayeta.1  This  news  was  but  a  signal  for  a 
fresh  outburst  of  discord  and  discontent  among  the  settlers,  for 
after  what  they  had  just  passed  through  an  expedition  to  New 
Mexico  proved  a  most  unwelcome  subject.  Father  Ayeta  him¬ 
self  best  described  the  general  situation.  He  stated  that  when 
he  reached  Parral  on  August  2,  he  heard  rumors  that  the  settlers 
at  El  Paso  had  come  to  regard  the  reconquest  as  impossible  be¬ 
cause  additional  soldiers  were  not  being  sent  from  Mexico.  This, 
he  said,  surprised  and  grieved  him,  for  when  he  left  El  Paso  the 
year  before  he  felt  that  the  citizens  were  so  anxious  for  help  to 
return  to  a  reconquest  of  their  country  that  to  accomplish  it  they 
would  even  be  willing  to  eat  stones ;  that  without  any  doubt  the 
greatest  joy  in  the  world  would  be  theirs  on  the  day  when  the 
viceroy  would  supply  them  with  necessities  for  returning  to  the 
proposed  reduction.2  But  on  the  9th  of  September,  the  people 
having  been  called  together  by  Otermm,  even  before  the  viceroy’s 
despatch  had  been  read  to  them,  “there  was  not  lacking  one,” 
so  Father  Ayeta  stated,  “to  cause  difficulties  and  embarrassments. 
From  which,  and  from  many  reports  which  he  received  in  a  short 
time,  he  learned  that  all  the  sincerest  courage,  zeal,  the  promises, 
and  the  desires  to  return  to  the  conquest  manifested  in  Salineta,  not 
only  by  their  mouths  but  over  their  signatures,  which  the  superior 
government  holds,  had  been  changed  to  cold  indifference.  And  he 
learned  that  there  was  no  dearth  of  leading  citizens  who  in  place 
of  strength  caused  weakness.  But  he  did  what  human  strength 
could  to  encourage  them  and  he  remonstrates  with  his  Lordship 
for  having  failed  to  aid  him  in  carrying  the  heavy  load  which  he 
bears  as  his  strength  permits.  .  .  .  And  some  being  relatives  of 
others  and  following  their  leadership,  the  matter  reached  such  a 
state  that  the  expense  having  been  incurred,  it  was  seen  that  it 
would  be  most  difficult  to  make  the  entrada.  And,  were  it  not  that 
God  never  permits  that  there  be  lacking  many  good  men  where 
there  are  bad,  who  promptly  and  obediently,  without  replies  or 
metaphysics,  enter  into  the  service  of  the  king,  due  credit  being 

1  Autos  Pertenecientes  a  el  alcamiento  de  los  Yndios  de  La  Proua  del  nuebo  MexA° 
Y  la  entrada,  Y  subcesos  de  ella  que  se  hico  para  su  recuperation,  folio  62.  Transcripts, 
in  Bolton  Collection,  of  Mss.  in  the  Archivo  General  y  Pfiblico  de  Mexico,  Provin- 
cias  Internas,  34.  (See  Bolton,  Guide,  92.)  Also  Expediente,  No.  8,  folio  1,  New 
Mexico  Archives.  (See  Twitchell,  op.  cit.,  70.) 

2  Autos  Pertenecientes,  etc.,  folio  61. 


THE  CAUSES  OF  OTERMlN’S  FAILURE 


443 


given  to  his  Lordship  who  led  many  out  of  the  error  they  had 
been  in  by  his  good  example,  there  would  have  been  no  entrada.”  1 

In  the  face  of  all  this  dissatisfaction  Otermm  the  day  after 
the  arrival  of  Father  Ayeta  began  preparations  for  carrying  out 
the  viceroy’s  orders.  A  general  muster  of  the  citizens  and  a  re¬ 
view  of  all  of  their  equipment  was  begun  and  orders  were  issued 
for  all  deserters  to  return  to  El  Paso.  The  aid  of  the  officials  of 
Nueva  Vizcaya  and  Sonora  was  implored  in  this  matter,  but  it 
is  worthy  of  note  that  not  a  half  dozen  of  such  deserters  responded 
to  their  governor’s  call  in  the  two  months  preceding  the  departure 
of  the  expedition.2 

In  the  meantime  dissatisfaction  at  El  Paso  grew  apace  and 
again  on  September  21,  Father  Ayeta  came  to  the  rescue.  Speak¬ 
ing  of  himself  in  the  third  person  he  says  :  “It  was  asked  of  him  that 
he  continue  the  aid,  for  if  he  agreed  and  continued  to  give  it  diffi¬ 
culties  would  be  removed.  So  he  granted  anew  another  2000 
cattle  and  2000  fancgas  of  grain  in  the  name  of  his  Majesty.” 
In  this  way  actual  opposition  to  the  plans  was  quieted  and  the 
next  day  the  governor  began  making  the  payments  to  the  set¬ 
tlers.  The  following  day  the  list  of  soldiers  for  the  presidio  was 
made  known  and  the  soldiers  paid.  Ayeta  is  authority  for  the 
statement,  however,  that  the  supply  money  was  so  placed  that 
the  number  of  dissatisfied  settlers  exceeded  the  number  of 
satisfied  ones,  “an  accident,”  he  adds,  “which  the  great  prudence 
of  his  Lordship  overcame  and  made  bearable  that  the  service  of 
their  majesties  might  be  accomplished.  And  for  his  part  his 
Paternity  took  all  possible  precautions,  caressing  them  and 
petting  them,  with  no  slight  mortification  and  disgust,  until  God 
wished  that  they  should  move.”  3 

Finally  on  November  5  the  force  left  Guadalupe  del  Paso. 
On  November  7  at  the  Ancon  de  Fray  Garcia,  six  leagues  above 
Guadalupe,  a  general  review  and  muster  was  held  and  it  was  found 
that  there  were  one  hundred  and  thirty  trained  soldiers,  sixteen 
raw  recruits,  one  hundred  and  twelve  Indian  allies,  twenty-eight 

1  Autos  Pertenecientes,  etc.,  folios  62-63. 

2  Expediente,  No.  8,  folios  1 , 33,  and  65  in  New  Mexico  Archives.  (See  Twitchell, 
op.  cit.,  70.) 

3  Expediente,  No.  6,  folios  28-30  in  New  Mexico  Archives ;  Expediente,  No.  5, 
folios  1-26  in  ibid.;  Expediente,  No.  8,  folios  34-40,  in  ibid.;  Autos  Pertenecientes, 
63. 


444 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


servants,  nine  of  whom  were  armed,  at  least  three  religious,  in¬ 
cluding  Father  Ayeta,  and  one  boy,  thus  making  a  total  of  about 
two  hundred  and  ninety  persons.  The  soldiers  carried  in  all  nine 
hundred  and  forty-eight  horses  and  mules  and  the  religious  doubt¬ 
less  thirty  or  forty  more.  The  military  equipment  was  deficient 
in  many  respects.  Excepting  Governor  Otermm  and  Francisco 
Xavier,  the  Secretary  of  Government  and  War,  only  twenty-five 
soldiers  were  provided  with  complete  outfits  of  personal  arms 
and  full  cavalry  equipment.  Thirty-six  others  carried  outfits 
of  personal  arms,  but  were  not  provided  with  full  cavalry  equip¬ 
ment;  three  possessed  complete  outfits  of  personal  arms  only; 
thirty-four  had  a  full  outfit  of  personal  arms  with  the  exception  of 
a  term;  and  one  carried  all  his  personal  arms  with  the  exception 
of  a  term  and  a  leather  jacket.  Of  the  other  forty-five  one  pos¬ 
sessed  only  an  arquebus,  another  only  a  leather  shield,  while 
among  the  remaining  forty-three  there  were  in  all  fourteen  swords, 
fourteen  arquebuses,  ten  shields  ( chimales ),  eight  leather  shields 
(i adargas ),  six  daggers,  two  jackets,  four  lances  and  three  leather 
jackets.  None  of  these  men  possessed  more  than  one  of  each 
kind  of  the  above  mentioned  articles,  while  only  six  men  possessed 
as  many  as  four  of  the  articles.1 

While  by  this  time  actual  opposition  to  the  expedition  had 
been  hushed  there  was  still  an  almost  utter  lack  of  confidence  in 
the  success  of  the  undertaking.  This  is  best  illustrated  by  a 
statement  of  Otermm  himself,  made  in  the  auto  calling  for  the 
muster  of  November  7,  to  the  effect  that  he  believed  it  would  be 
impossible  to  succeed  on  the  expedition,  which,  he  said,  he  was 
forced  to  undertake  out  of  deference  to  his  “  obligation  as  a  vassal 
and  in  order  to  give  just  fulfillment  to  the  mandates  and  orders” 
of  the  viceroy  and  Junta  General ?  During  the  first  fourteen  or 
fifteen  days  of  the  march  the  soldiers  were  tractable,  seeing,  as 
Father  Ayeta  stated,  that  there  was  no  remedy  for  it.  But  as 
they  approached  the  settled  country  of  the  Pueblos  even  the  most 
meritorious  began  to  fear  the  first  encounter  with  the  Indians.3 
Selecting  seventy  of  the  most  valorous  ones  Otermm  with  them, 

1  Autos  Pertenecientes,  folio  4 ;  Expediente,  No.  8,  folios  65-73,  in  New  Mexico 
Archives. 

2  Expediente,  No.  8,  folio  65,  in  New  Mexico  Archives. 

3  Autos  Pertenecientes,  folio  63. 


THE  CAUSES  OF  OTERMlN’S  FAILURE 


445 


on  December  6,  surprised  and  captured  Isleta  and  soon  after 
received  the  submission  of  the  entire  population,  numbering  five 
hundred  and  eleven  souls,1  and  not  fifteen  hundred  and  eleven,  as 
Bancroft  states.2 

On  the  eighth  of  December  Otermin  despatched  the  lieutenant- 
general  of  the  cavalry,  Juan  Dominguez  de  Mendoza,  with  seventy 
mounted  soldiers  and  some  Indian  allies  to  reconnoiter  the  country 
above,  while  he  occupied  himself  with  various  duties  in  Isleta.  The 
Indians  above  Isleta  had  heard  of  the  arrival  there  of  the  Spaniards 
and  at  once  had  taken  to  the  mountains.  Mendoza  was  gone 
ten  days  and  advanced  as  far  as  La  Cieneguilla,  passing  through 
the  pueblos  of  Alameda,  Puaray,  Sandia,  San  Felipe,  Santo  Do¬ 
mingo,  and  Cochiti.  At  La  Cieneguilla  parleys  were  held  with  the 
assembled  Indians,  numbering  over  one  thousand  warriors,  and 
peace  pacts  were  made,  by  the  terms  of  which  Mendoza  was  to 
allow  the  Indians  three  days  in  which  to  submit  to  the  Spaniards’ 
rule  and  return  to  their  pueblos.  He  and  his  men  then  returned 
to  Cochiti  to  await  the  expiration  of  the  period.  At  the  end  of 
that  time,  no  Indians  having  come,  it  was  ascertained  through 
spies  and  through  deserters  from  the  Indian  camp  that  the  Indians 
had  only  made  terms  in  order  to  gain  time,  that  warriors  from 
all  over  the  kingdom  were  flocking  to  the  standard  of  Catiti,  Don 
Luis  Tupatu  and  other  native  chieftains,  and  that  there  were 
several  well  laid  schemes  to  entrap  the  Spaniards  and  get  rid  of 
them  at  one  fell  swoop. 

As  soon  as  Mendoza  learned  this  he  beat  a  hasty  retreat  and  the 
next  day  joined  Otermm’s  division,  which  by  this  time  had  ad¬ 
vanced  northward  from  Isleta  and  was  encamped  opposite  the 
pueblo  of  Alameda,  which  the  governor  had  already  destroyed, 
together  with  Puaray  and  Sandia.3  It  may  be  remarked  in  pass¬ 
ing  that  the  records  kept  by  Otermin  at  this  time  disprove  the 
long  accepted  theories  as  to  the  location  of  the  three  above-men¬ 
tioned  pueblos  and  show  conclusively  that  Alameda  was  about 
eight  leagues  above  Isleta  and  on  the  same  or  west  side  of  the 
stream,  that  Puaray  was  one  league  above  Alameda  but  on 

1  Autos  Pcrtenecientes,  folios  8  and  101-102. 

2  Bancroft,  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  p.  188. 

3  Autos  Pertenecientes,  folios  10-57. 


446 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


the  east  bank  of  the  river  and  that  Sandia  was  one  league  above 
Puaray  and  on  the  same  side  of  the  stream.1 

The  return  of  the  Mendoza  party  with  its  discouraging  reports 
was  the  real  turning  point  in  the  outward  policy  of  the  expedition. 
Whatever  had  been  the  half-hearted  attitude  up  to  that  time  there 
could  henceforth  be  no  doubting  the  keen  opposition  to  remain¬ 
ing  in  the  country.  Father  Ay  eta  stated  that  Otermin,  disgusted 
with  the  failure  of  the  Mendoza  party,  determined  to  select 
seventy  men  and  go  in  person  to  chastise  the  rebels.  To  ascertain 
the  general  opinion  on  this  point  Father  Ayeta  made  a  tour  of 
the  camp.  He  found  in  some  of  the  soldiers  “such  rebelliousness 
and  in  others  such  arguments”  that  he  realized  the  hopelessness 
of  the  project.  “Those  who  had  horses,”  he  added,  “looking 
at  nothing  but  their  own  convenience,  although  the  sky  should 
fall,  would  not  lend  them  to  their  own  fathers,  much  less  to  the 
governor.”  In  short,  not  ten  men  were  found  who  were  willing 
to  accompany  the  expedition.2  To  discuss  the  general  situation 
Otermin,  on  December  23,  called  a  junta  de  gnerra.3  Father 
Ayeta,  the  first  one  of  the  thirty-one  participants  to  give  an 
opinion,  stated  emphatically  that  he  did  not  believe  that  there 
was  any  prospect  of  Otermm’s  being  able  to  inflict  further  punish¬ 
ment  on  the  apostates,  and  recommended  a  retreat  to  Isleta,4  so 
that  that  pueblo  might  be  safeguarded  until  a  decision  could  be 
reached.  With  Father  Ayeta,  who  had  done  so  much  to  inspire 
the  soldiers  for  the  undertaking,  discouraged,  there  could  be  little 
hope  for  further  efforts  at  reconquest.  In  the  discussion  that 
followed  emphasis  was  laid  on  the  fact  that  the  unusually  hard 
winter  had  so  exhausted  the  horses  that  many  soldiers  were  doing 
scout  duty  on  foot ;  that  the  Isleta  Indians  were  deserting  and 
returning  to  apostasy  while  those  loyal  to  the  Spanish  cause  were 
liable  to  be  attacked  by  the  rebels ;  and  that  the  place  where 
they  were  was  unsuited  for  defense,  and  short  of  firewood.  The 
majority  voted  to  retreat  for  the  present  to  Isleta.  Four  voted 
to  continue  the  entrada  and  three  were  in  favor  of  leaving  for  San 
Lorenzo  at  once.  Otermin,  as  can  be  imagined,  yielded  to  public 

1  See  Hackett,  The  Location  of  the  Tigua  Pueblos  of  Alameda,  Puaray,  and  Sandia 
in  1681,  in  Old  Santa  Fk,  vol.  2,  pp.  381-391. 

2  Autos  Pertenecientes,  folios  63-64. 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  56-57. 

4  Ibid.,  folio  64. 


THE  CAUSES  OF  OTERMlN’S  FAILURE 


447 


opinion  and  ordered  a  retreat  to  Isleta,  where  his  force  arrived  on 
December  30.  The  next  day  another  junta  was  held,  and  it  was 
unanimously  agreed  to  retreat  at  once  to  El  Paso.  Isleta  was 
burned  as  were  all  of  the  other  pueblos  visited  except  San  Felipe, 
Santo  Domingo,  and  Cochiti,  and  on  January  2  the  force  began  its 
march  down  the  river.1 

In  summing  up  the  achievements  of  the  expedition  little 
can  be  said.  A  distance  of  more  than  a  hundred  and  twenty-five 
leagues  had  been  traversed.  Five  hundred  of  the  sixteen  thousand 
apostates  had  been  absolved  and  received  again  into  the  church, 
although  over  one  hundred  of  these  had  apostasized  again  during 
the  Spaniards’  absence.  Eight  pueblos,  including  Isleta,  which 
was  the  only  one  that  was  not  found  deserted,  had  been  burned, 
and  with  them  a  quantity  of  grain  estimated  at  four  thousand 
fanegas.  Three  other  deserted  pueblos  had  been  sacked  and  a 
great  quantity  of  beans  and  other  things  consumed.  Only  one 
encounter  with  the  Indians  is  recorded  and  this  was  at  Isleta, 
the  only  pueblo  as  far  south  as  the  Piros  country  which  did  not 
participate  in  the  revolt  of  the  preceding  year.  There  the  na¬ 
tives  only  let  fly  a  few  arrows,  for,  being  attacked  at  daybreak, 
they  were  unable  to  ascertain  who  the  invaders  were,  and  at  first 
took  them  to  be  Apaches.  The  offensive  operations  of  the  Men¬ 
doza  party,  as  we  have  seen,  amounted  to  nothing.  In  short  it 
is  worthy  of  comment  that  the  death,  or  even  the  wounding,  of 
not  a  single  person  on  either  side  is  noted. 

What  then  can  be  assigned  as  the  cause  for  so  little  having  been 
accomplished  on  so  long  an  expedition  ?  The  actual  opposition  en¬ 
countered  before  the  expedition  set  out,  the  lack  of  confidence  in  the 
undertaking  from  the  governor  down,  even  from  the  very  begin¬ 
ning,  and  the  unwilling  resignation  to  the  inevitable  on  the  part  of 
the  soldiers  on  the  march  could  only  presage  an  unsuccessful 
expedition.  Under  such  conditions  there  could  have  been  little 
hope  for  overcoming  such  trials  and  discouragements  as  were 
caused  by  the  severe  weather,  the  failure  of  the  horses,  and  the 
flight  of  the  Indians  to  the  mountains  rather  than  surrender, 
while  a  vigorous  offensive  campaign  against  the  apostates  was  out 
of  the  question. 

1  Autos  Pertenecientes,  folioa  65-95. 


448 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


That  such  a  campaign  was  possible,  however,  and  that  the 
failure  of  the  expedition  was  not  regarded  by  the  officials  as  due 
to  a  scarcity  of  men  and  equipment  was  pointed  out  in  no  uncer¬ 
tain  terms  by  the  royal  fiscal  in  Mexico  City  later  on.  His  review 
of  the  expedition  is  interesting  and  altogether  enlightening.  He 
says  in  part :  “  In  the  pueblos  which  were  set  on  fire  more  than 
4000  fanegas  of  grain  were  burned,  besides  a  great  quantity  of 
beans.  And  it  must  be  noted  that  this  quantity  did  not  include 
that  which  the  carts  and  pack  train  carried  and  that  which  they 
threw  to  the  animals;  that  in  the  pueblos  of  Cochiti,  San  Felipe, 
San  Ildefonso,  Santa  Ana,  and  Sia,  there  was  a  great  quantity  of 
grain  and  other  supplies,  as  the  lieutenant-general,  Juan  Dominguez, 
related  in  those  letters  of  which  mention  has  been  made ;  that  at 
least  there  might  have  been  collected  another  4000  fanegas,  which 
he  left  to  the  enemy,  and  likewise  the  houses  of  the  above- 
mentioned  pueblos,  without  having  set  fire  to  them.  And  it  seems 
that  if  the  governor  had  ordered  that  all  of  said  grain  should  be 
collected  in  the  pueblo  of  Puaray,  which  is  in  the  central  part 
and  at  a  short  distance  from  the  others,  he  could  have  made  him¬ 
self  secure  in  it,  having  plenty  of  grain  to  sustain  his  force,  and  to 
feed  to  the  horses  and  mules  at  night,  taking  them  out  during 
the  day  to  feed  in  the  fields,  for  in  his  letters  the  lieutenant  in¬ 
formed  him  that  on  both  sides  of  the  river  the  feed  and  stubble  was 
more  than  good  in  that  vicinity.  And  having  finished  gathering 
in  the  crop  of  corn  there  could  not  fail  to  have  been  a  large  quantity 
of  husks  and  stalks  of  the  corn  itself,  equally  good  feed  for  the 
horses  and  mules.  In  this  way  it  would  have  been  possible  to 
maintain  the  army  many  months  in  the  said  pueblo,  which 
is  in  the  central  part  of  the  province  and  from  ten  to  twelve 
leagues  distant  from  the  villa  of  Santa  Fe.  And  the  apostates 
being  in  the  sierras  during  the  snowy  season,  without  houses, 
and  with  few  provisions,  the  discomforts  of  cold  and  hunger 
would  have  reduced  them  to  the  necessity  of  submission,  while 
the  cause  for  the  weakness  of  the  horses,  which  was  the  main 
pretext  for  the  retreat,  would  have  been  removed,  since  with 
a  few  days  of  rest  and  feeding  on  corn  they  would  have  been 
fatter  and  stronger  than  when  they  left  the  camp  of  San  Lorenzo. 
And  the  other  pretext,  that  the  surrendered  Indians  in  Isleta  were 


THE  CAUSES  OF  OTERMlN’S  FAILURE 


449 


in  danger,  vanishes  because  of  the  ease  with  which  they  couid  have 
been  taken  with  the  army  to  the  said  pueblo  of  Puaray  where  they 
would  be  more  secure  than  left  alone  as  they  were  in  Isleta,  merely 
on  the  strength  of  their  word  and  with  the  power  of  carrying  away 
the  many  provisions  which  they  had  there. 

“And  when  their  safety  is  doubted  that  doubt  may  be  dis¬ 
pelled  by  what  persons  experienced  in  Indian  warfare  say,  for 
example  will  not  be  found  in  all  New  Spain  where  Indians  have 
dared  to  offer  battle  to  so  many  persons  as  the  army  numbered, 
mounted,  provided  with  arms  and  ammunition,  and  intrenched 
in  a  pueblo,  nor  even  to  attack  those  with  less  defence  unless  it 
were  by  surprise.  For  it  continually  happens  that  twenty  armed 
men  with  powder  and  munitions,  make  thousands  of  Indians  re¬ 
treat  although  it  may  be  in  the  open  country.  And  when  any¬ 
one  attempts  to  deny  this  pure  and  notorious  truth,  laying  aside 
many  other  examples  to  prove  it,  that  will  be  sufficient  which  the 
governor  himself  experienced  in  the  villa  of  Santa  Fe.  For  not¬ 
withstanding  that  all  the  apostates  had  been  called  together  for  the 
uprising,  and  that  this  news  had  caught  him  unawares  and  with¬ 
out  any  preparation  to  resist  such  a  general  assemblage,  and  the 
Indians,  being  so  wrought  up  that  in  all  of  the  other  pueblos  of 
that  district  they  had  already  killed  the  priests  and  all  the  Span¬ 
iards,  without  sparing  the  children  and  women,  yet  the  said  gov¬ 
ernor,  having  placed  himself  in  defense  with  only  one  hundred 
men  who  could  bear  arms,  not  only  repelled  the  attack  of  such  a 
multitude  of  Indians  as  had  surrounded  him,  but,  having  repulsed 
them,  put  them  to  flight,  killing  more  than  three  hundred,  besides 
forty-seven  others  whom  they  caught  in  a  house  where  they  killed 
them  with  lances.  And  seeing  that  his  lieutenant-general  in  Rio 
Abajo,  Alonso  Garcia,  was  not  giving  him  aid,  he  decided  to  leave, 
retiring  with  his  followers  from  the  said  villa  of  Santa  Fe,  as  he 
did,  the  greater  part  of  them  coming  on  foot  and  burdened  with 
women  and  children  and  the  necessary  supplies.  And  with  only 
one  hundred  horses  he  came  retreating  through  the  same  pueblos 
of  Sandia,  Alameda,  and  Isleta,  where  the  apostates  had  risen. 
In  this  way,  with  very  few  supplies,  and  in  sight  of  the  enemy  who 
followed  them,  revealing  themselves  on  the  hills  and  ridges,  he 
marched  to  the  place  called  Fray  Cristobal,  which  is  distant  from 
2  G 


450 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


the  villa  and  capital  of  Santa  Fe,  from  where  they  set  out,  seventy 
leagues,  without  the  apostates  having  dared  to  give  him  battle 
in  all  this  distance  with  its  very  narrow  passes,  nor  to  come  upon 
them,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  [the  Indians]  had  a  great  num¬ 
ber  of  horses,  and  some  guns,  powder,  and  ammunition,  which 
they  had  taken  from  the  Spaniards. 

“And,  if  on  that  occasion,  when  they  were  so  disordered  and 
were  travelling  on  foot  and  with  so  great  a  number  of  women  and 
children,  and  the  few  horses  which  they  were  bringing  lean,  on 
account  of  having  been  shut  up  the  nine  days  that  they  were 
besieged,  the  Indians  did  not  dare  to  attack  them,  even  when  they 
passed  through  the  same  pueblos,  then  it  is  clearly  demonstrated 
that  if  those  who  were  of  the  opinion  that  the  army  should  retire 
would  recall  this  event  they  would  find  all  the  motives  with 
which  they  upheld  the  retirement  to  have  vanished.  For,  in  order 
to  maintain  themselves  in  the  pueblos  referred  to  they  had  the 
supplies  in  them  which  have  already  been  mentioned ;  with  eight 
hundred  and  fifty  horses  and  other  animals ;  provided  with  arms 
and  munitions  and  without  women  and  children  to  defend ;  and 
the  apostates  in  the  woods  and  mountains  in  the  season  of  much 
snow,  burdened  with  a  whole  rabble  and  with  very  few  provisions ; 
so  that  it  was  very  likely  not  only  that  it  could  maintain  itself 
but  also  that  the  rebels  would  necessarily  have  to  surrender. 
Meanwhile  they  could  have  sent  for  aid  to  El  Paso,  Casas  Grandes, 
and  Parral  for  their  greater  security. 

“  Comparing  then,  the  forces  and  supplies  with  which  the  gover¬ 
nor  retired  at  the  time  of  the  uprising  with  those  which  are  found 
in  his  second  retreat  the  great  difference  will  be  recognized.  And 
if  the  enemy  then  did  not  have  the  boldness  to  attack  him  they 
would  have  less  boldness  now,  seeing  our  men  better  provided  and 
in  greater  number.  And  it  is  not  reasonable  that  there  should 
have  been  horses  and  mules  able  to  retreat  more  than  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  thirty  leagues  and  yet  insufficient  and  too  lean  to  go 
back  to  burn  the  pueblos  of  San  Felipe,  Santo  Domingo,  and 
Cochiti,  and  the  provisions  which  were  in  them,  which  duty  the 
lieutenant-general  Juan  Dominguez  de  Mendoza  had  failed  to 
execute.  For  it  is  only  six  leagues,  and  from  ten  to  twelve  to 
the  villa  of  Santa  Fe,  from  the  pueblo  of  Sandia  where  the 


THE  CAUSES  OF  OTERMlN’S  FAILURE 


451 


retreat  was  begun,  thereby  frustrating  the  recovery  of  that  kingdom 
which  they  had  so  well  under  way  that  it  was  certain  of  success 
if  he  had  maintained  himself  in  the  said  pueblos.”  1 

Such,  in  support  of  the  above  conclusions,  was  the  opinion  of 
the  royal  fiscal,  when,  upon  the  receipt  of  the  official  autos  kept 
by  Governor  Otermm,  he  made  a  report  to  the  viceroy. 

1  Autos  Pertenecientes,  folios  116-118. 


THE  ANCESTRY  AND  FAMILY  OF  JUAN  DE  ONATE1 


Beatrice  Quijada  Cornish 

The  ancestry  of  Juan  de  Onate,2  on  his  father’s  side,  may  be 
traced  to  the  Basque  provinces.3  The  importance  of  these  prov¬ 
inces  in  the  evolution  of  Spain  and  her  possessions  is  historically 
established.  In  religion  alone,  through  Ignatius  de  Loyola  of 
Guipuzcoa  and  Francis  Xavier  of  Navarre,  they  have  left  their 
mark  upon  Europe. 

Cristobal  de  Onate,  father  of  Don  Juan,  was  born  in  Vitoria,4 
the  capital  of  Alava.5  He  was  the  son  of  Cristobal  Perez  de 
Narriahondo  and  Ossanza  Martinez  de  San  Vicente,  his  wife.  He 
was  also  a  nephew  of  Pedro  de  Baeza  and  Marfa  de  Yrarrazaval, 
his  wife,  of  the  ancient  and  illustrious  house  of  Narriahondo, 


1  This  paper  was  written  in  the  Bancroft  Library  at  the  University  of  California. 

3  Originally  Oinati  or  Oniati,  Soraluce,  Historia  General  de  Guipuzcoa,  I,  256. 

3  Provincial  Vascongadas,  a  division  of  northeastern  Spain,  comprising  the 
provinces  of  Alava,  Biscaya  or  Viscaya,  Guiptizcoa  and  Navarre.  Their  isolation, 
the  mountainous  and  easily  defended  nature  of  the  country,  their  comparative 
poverty  and  the  possession  of  a  seaboard,  all  tended  to  the  development  of  rugged 
characteristics  essential  to  a  people  who  were  destined  to  carry  on  warfare  and 
adventure  for  centuries  in  the  liberation  of  their  mother  country  from  the  Moors, 
and  in  the  conquest  and  settlement  of  her  distant  colonies. 

4  Mendieta,  Historia  Eclesidstica  Indiana,  402 ;  Berndrdez,  Description  Breve 
de  la  muy  noble,  y  leal  ciudad  de  Zacatecas,  31,  according  to  Haro’s  Nobilario.  B6- 
thencourt,  Historia  Genealdgica  Heraldica  de  la  Monarquia  Espafiola  Casa  Real  y 
Grandes  de  Espaha,  I,  Introduction,  8-9,  says  regarding  Lopez  de  Haro,  author 
of  the  Nobilario:  “A  Alonso  Lopez  de  Haro,  Criado  de  Su  Magestad,  cronista 
que  fu6  de  Felipe  IV,  debemos  el  Nobilario  Genealogico  de  los  Reyes  y 
Titulos  creados  en  Castilla  desde  que  tuvieron  el  caracter  de  transmisibles  y  here- 
ditarios,  6  lo  que  es  lo  mismo,  desde  los  tiempos  de  Don  Enrique  II,  el  de  las  Mer¬ 
cedes,  hasta  los  de  Felipe  IV,  &  la  sazon  reinante.”  Bern&rdez,  p.  34,  in  quoting 
Haro,  does  so  verbatim.  A  copy  of  Haro’s  work  was  furnished  to  him  by  Doctor 
Don  Juan  Ignacio  Maria  Castorena  y  Ursua.  A  Civica  Corona  compiled  by  Cas- 
torena  y  Ursila  from  his  researches  in  archives,  from  his  detailed  study  of  crdnicas 
and  surveys  of  Nobilarios,  is  mentioned  by  Bern&rdez,  but  it  is  not  available  to  the 
writer.  For  information  on  Castorena  y  Ursua,  see  his  Las  Indias  Entendidas, 
Sermon  10/1  and  El  Predicador  ponveriido.  Sermon  8/4. 

6  For  the  origin  of  the  name  Alava,  see  Madoz,  the  Diccionario  Geogrdfico-Estadls- 
tico-Histdrico  de  Espaha  y  sus  posesiones  de  Ultramar ;  Salazar,  Mexico  en  1554,  P-  56. 
For  the  history  of  the  province  of  Alava,  see  Pirala,  Espaha,  sus  monumentos  y 
artes,  su  naturaleza  e  historia,  pp.  48-185.  For  the  history  of  Villa  de  Onate,  see 
Pirala,  pp.  330-384. 


452 


The  Ancestry  and  Family  of  Juan  de  Onate 


ANCESTRY  AND  FAMILY  OF  JUAN  DE  ONATE 


453 


within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  important  Villa  de  Onate,  in  the 
province  of  Alava.  There  is  evidence  that  this  Villa  was  in  exis¬ 
tence  in  1 149. 1  It  is  situated  in  the  centre  of  the  Basque  provinces. 
Pedro  de  Baeza  was  a  descendant  of  Lopez  Diaz  de  Haro,  “Senor 
de  Viscaya,”  chief  and  captain-general  of  the  Andalusian  frontier, 
bishopric  of  Jaen,  who  conquered  the  city  of  Baeza  from  the 
Moors  in  1227.  This  achievement  caused  him  to  order  that  all 
of  his  descendants  adopt  the  surname  of  Baeza,  so  as  to  per¬ 
petuate  this  victory  over  the  Moors.2  In  the  early  seventeenth 
century  there  were  many  families  of  this  name  both  in  Baeza  and 
Viscaya.3 

The  ancestry  of  Juan  de  Onate  on  his  mother’s  side  may 
be  traced  to  Granada.4  Doha  Cathalina  de  Salazar,  his 

1  Pirala,  p.  179. 

1  Bern&rdez,  p.  32,  according  to  Haro’s  Nobilario. 

*  Arlegui,  Chrdnica  de  la  Provincia  de  N .  S.  P.  S.  Francisco  de  Zacatecas,  1st  ed., 
pp.  56-57. 

4  Carranza,  Sumaria  Relacidn  de  las  Cosas  de  la  Nueva  Espaha,  289.  The 
work  of  Baltasar  Dorantes  de  Carranza,  to  which  frequent  reference  will  be  made, 
appears  to  have  been  little  used  heretofore.  Because  of  its  importance,  the  writer 
feels  warranted  in  adding  a  statement  bearing  on  the  interesting  history  of  both 
the  author  and  his  manuscript.  This  manuscript,  probably  his  autobiography, 
according  to  Obregon,  writer  of  the  prologue  of  the  publication,  was  published  in 
1902  by  the  Museo  Nacional  de  Mexico.  Prior  to  this  time  it  had  been  in  the  pos¬ 
session  of  Sr.  Lie.  D.  Jose  Fernando  Ramirez.  Upon  the  death  of  this  distinguished 
“bibliofilo”  it  was  obtained  along  with  other  manuscripts  and  the  majority  of  the 
books  in  his  valuable  library,  by  Sr.  Lie.  D.  Alfredo  Chavero.  Upon  one  occasion, 
having  shown  this  manuscript  to  Sr.  D.  Joaquin  Garcia  Icazbalceta,  he  was  so 
delighted  with  the  work,  that  it  was  given  to  him  as  a  present  by  its  owner.  While 
in  possession  of  Icazbalceta,  Sr.  D.  Jose  Maria  de  Agreda  y  S&nchez  had  occasion 
to  see  the  manuscript,  and  he  in  turn  was  so,  pleased  with  its  contents  that  he  de¬ 
cided  to  make  a  paleographioal  translation.  Agreda  then  requested  Luis  Gonzilez 
Obregon  to  check  the  copy  with  the  original,  and  he  became  so  interested  in  its  con¬ 
tents  that  he  suggested  to  him  that  the  manuscript  be  published  as  soon  as  possible. 
Unable  to  do  so  at  that  time,  he  did  so  later.  His  idea  was  greatly  encouraged  by 
Sr.  Dr.  D.  Manuel  Urbina,  who  communicated  with  Sr.  D.  Francisco  del  Paso  y 
Troncoso,  already  familiar  with  the  manuscript.  The  document  was  published 
in  its  entirety  for  the  first  time  in  1902;  a  few  pages  are  incorporated  in  Garcia 
Icazbalceta’s  Memorias  de  la  Academia  Mexicana.  As  the  first  fourteen  pages  of 
the  original  manuscript  were  missing,  and  therefore  a  title  was  lacking,  Ramirez 
gave  the  book  the  name  of  Sumaria  Relacidn  de  las  Cosas  de  Nueva  Espafia,  con 
noticia  individual  de  los  descendientes  legltimos  de  los  conquistador es  y  primeros  pobla- 
dores  espafioles.  Carranza  was  the  son  of  Andres  Dorantes  de  Carranza,  one  of  the 
companions  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca.  Andres  Dorantes  was  a  native  of  B6jar  del  Cas- 
tanar  in  old  Castile,  and  a  descendant  of  noble  families,  of  ancient  lineage,  possessing 
many  “ mayorazgos  de  calidad.’’  Baltasar  was  born  in  Mexico  about  the  middle 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  inherited  an  encomienda  which  brought  him  five 
thousand  pesos  de  renta,  of  which  he  was  despoiled,  being  left,  as  he  good  naturedly 
remarks,  “desnudo  y  en  cueros  como  cuando  salio  mi  padre  de  la  Florida.”  He 
wrote  in  Mexico  in  1604,  as  he  himself  states  in  several  places  in  his  work.  On 
one  occasion  he  says  :  “  Not  more  than  eighty-four  years  have  elapsed  since  this 

land  was  conquered,  which  is  in  1604,  and  therefore  the  persons  living  are  known, 
and  the  memory  of  those  deceased  is  still  alive.”  Beyond  the  data  furnished  by 
himself,  little  is  known  of  him,  but  he  enters  into  an  interesting  account  of  the  fife, 
ancestry,  and  descendants  of  his  father,  Andrfes  Dorantes  de  Carranza.  Baltasar 


454 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


mother,1  was  the  daughter  of  Gonzalo  de  Salazar,  “el  gordo,”  and 
Dona  Cathalina  de  la  Cadena.2  She  had  previously  been  married 
to  Ruy  Diaz  de  Mendoza,  who  upon  his  death  left  her  a  widow  in 
Spain.  She  then  came  from  Spain  to  Mexico  and  married  Cris¬ 
tobal  de  Onate,  Don  Juan’s  father,  who  was  at  that  time  a  vecino 
of  the  city  of  Mexico.3  Dona  Cathalina  de  la  Cadena  was  the 
daughter4  of  Alonso  Davila,6  “  el  de  Malacatepec,”6  conquistador 
and  vecino  of  the  city  of  Mexico.7  Antonio  de  la  Cadena  came 
from  Spain  to  Texcuco  8  with  Geronimo  Ruiz  de  la  Mota,  also  a 
conquistador .9 

Don  Cristobal  de  Onate  came  from  Spain  in  the  autumn  of 
1524, 10  with  the  contador,  Rodrigo  de  Albornoz  11  and  Gonzalo  de 


was  tesorero  for  the  king  in  the  port  of  Vera  Cruz,  and  occupied  other  positions 
of  merit  in  New  Spain.  Later  he  was  named  procurador  general  to  the  king  of 
Spain.  He  mentions  another  book  which  he  wrote,  and  which  he  calls  “el  libro 
principal .”  He  says:  “se  tocard  universalmente  lo  que  conviene  decir  en  este 
proposito  en  el  libro  principal,  porque  no  es  deste  lugar,  que  haria  historia  de  in- 
mensidad”  (Carranza,  p.  63).  According  to  Obregon,  this  book  has  never  been 
found. 

1  The  discussion  relative  to  Juan  de  Onate’s  mother,  namely :  whether  Dona 
Isabel  Cortes  Montezuma  was  his  mother  or  his  wife,  has  been  brought  about 
because  the  only  source  on  which  authorities  have  based  their  deductions  was 
Haro’s  Nobilario,  and  this  work  has  been  differently  quoted.  Arlegui,  1st  ed., 
p.  31,  erroneously  calls  Dona  Isabel  Cortes  Montezuma  the  wife  of  Don  Cristobal. 
The  San  Luis  Potosi  Relacion  Circuns.  confirms  this  statement  by  calling  Don  Juan 
“hijo  de  Dona  Isabel,”  according  to  Bancroft,  Hist.  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  p. 
116  ;  Villagrd,  Historia  de  la  Nueva  Mexico,  Canto  Sexto  ;  Berndrdez,  p.  31 ;  Arlegui, 
1st  ed.,  p.  34  ;  Luis  Tribaldo  de  Toledo,  Intro.,  Villagrd,  and  likewise  Carranza, 
Don  Juan  was  the  husband  of  Dona  Isabel. 

I  Carranza,  p.  290. 

3  Ibid. 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  282,  290. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  163.  Alonso  D&vila  had  a  son,  Gerdnimo  Davila  ;  grandsons,  Hernando 
de  Salazar,  Joan  Alonso  Davila,  Francisco  Ddvila,  Diego  de  Cayas ;  great  grand¬ 
sons,  Alonso  Ddvila  Magarino,  Joan  Magarino. 

6  For  information  regarding  Malacatepec,  see  Alcedo. 

7  Carranza,  p.  195. 

8  Tezcuco,  a  jurisdiction  and  alcaldia  mayor  of  New  Spain.  It  was  here  that 
king  Nzahualcoyotl  maintained  his  sovereignty,  and  after  the  establishment  of  the 
Mexican  empire  it  was  the  court  of  the  princes  of  the  race  of  Montezuma.  It  is 
15  miles  e.  n.  e.  of  Mexico  at  the  foot  of  the  sierra,  which  is  the  e.  wall  of  the  valley 
of  Tenoxtitlan,  in  lat.  19°  31'  30”  and  long.  98°  52'  w. 

9  Geronimo  Ruiz  de  la  Mota,  ‘‘capitan  de  un  vergantin  de  los  vallesteros.”  He 
left  many  sons  and  daughters,  the  oldest  being  Antonio  de  la  Mota.  Alonso  de 
la  Mota  and  Pedro  de  la  Mota  are  his  brothers.  Memorial  (anonymous)  de  los 
conquistador  es  de  esta  Nueva  Espafia  que  se  hollar  on  en  la  toma  de  Mexico  y  fueron 
despues  a  ganar  y  conquistar  con  el  Marques  del  Valle  las  provincias  de  Tutupeque  y 
la  provincia  de  Guatemala,  Honduras  e  Higueras  que  fue  toda  la  Nueva  Espafia. 
Incorporated  in  Appendix  of  Carranza’s  work  as  published  by  the  Museo  Nacional 
de  Mexico,  p.  443  et  seq.  Carranza,  p.  195. 

10  Bancroft,  Hist.  Mexico,  vol.  2,  p.  144,  states :  ‘‘Salazar  arrived  in  the  autumn, 
acc.  to  Cortds  Cartas.”  Carranza,  p.  315,  states:  ‘‘Vino  d  esta  Nueva  Spafia 
quando  el  contador  Rodrigo  de  Albornoz.” 

II  Carranza,  pp.  290,  315.  Rodrigo  de  Alborn6z  had  been  secretary  to  the  king 
prior  to  his  appointment  as  revenue  official.  His  appointment  is  dated  Balladolid, 


ANCESTRY  AND  FAMILY  OF  JUAN  DE  OftATE  455 


Salazar,  the  latter  as  factor.  The  strongest  characteristic  of 
Gonzalo  de  Salazar,  grandfather  of  Don  Juan,  as  gleaned  from 
the  pages  of  authorities  who  have  treated  of  his  career  in  Mexico, 
is  one  of  subtle  duplicity.  Arriving  in  Mexico  with  the  expecta¬ 
tion  of  acquiring  great  and  sudden  wealth,  he  lost  no  time  in 
fawning  upon  Cortes  in  the  hope  that  he  might  be  allowed  to 
share  in  the  plunder  of  the  colonial  revenue.  Failing  in  this  en¬ 
deavor,  because  Cortes  neither  possessed  the  treasures,  nor  was 
willing  to  share  his  receipts  with  others,  he  with  other  revenue 
officials  instituted  a  systematic  attack  upon  the  captain-general, 
libelling  his  character  and  his  acts  to  the  king  of  Spain.  Cortes 
seems  to  have  proved  pliable  to  their  purposes,  because  upon 
leaving  on  his  expedition  into  Honduras,  Salazar  and  Chirinos 
were  left  in  charge  at  Mexico.  This  so  facilitated  their  plan  of 
intrigue  that  prior  to  1526  they  were  in  entire  control  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment.  During  the  long  absence  of  Cortes  in  Honduras,  false 
reports  of  his  death  were  eagerly  circulated  by  Salazar  and  his 
associates,  thereby  urging  the  commissioners  to  greater  activity, 
and  resulting  in  a  usurpation  of  power.  The  estates  of  Cortes, 
the  offices,  lands,  and  Indians  of  his  followers,  were  seized  and 
appropriated  by  Salazar.  Salazar  was  soon  overthrown  by  a 
portion  of  the  followers  of  Cortes  who  had  been  inspired  with 
courage  upon  learning  that  Cortes  lived.  He  was  released  on 
the  plea  of  Albornoz  while  at  the  court  of  Spain.  He  went 
to  Spain  prior  to  1542,  and  joining  Soto  in  the  expedition  to 
Florida,  narrowly  escaped  hanging  for  disobedience  to  his  chief. 
He  died  in  obscurity.  When  Salazar  went  to  Spain  he  left 
his  son  Hernando  de  Salazar,  uncle  of  Juan  de  Onate,  as  fac¬ 
tor.  Hernando  de  Salazar  left  an  indebtedness  to  the  king  of 
three  hundred  thousand  pesos,  and  upon  his  death  Juan  Velaz¬ 
quez,  his  younger  brother,  bound  himself  to  liquidate  this  debt. 
Assuming  the  office  of  factor,  he  served  the  king  many  years, 
in  the  haciendas  of  his  father  as  well  as  in  the  encomiendas 
and  pueblos  of  Taxlmora,  in  the  province  of  Michoacan  and  in 

October  25,  1522,  and  reads:  ‘‘cuidando  hacer  cargo  al  oficial  real  tercero  de  los 
tributos,  servicios,  composiciones  que  los  indios  y  naturales  de  la  trerra  debian 
pagar,  como  de  todo  lo  demas  perteneciente  en  cualquier  manera  al  real  erario, 
segun  es  de  ver  en  el  tomo  I  de  los  cedularios  que  existen  en  el  real  tribunal  de  la 
oontaduria  mayor  de  cuentas.”  Fonseca,  Historia  General  de  la  Real  Hacienda, 
vol.  1,  p.  413. 


456 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


the  province  of  Tepetlaeztoc,  seven  leagues  from  the  city  of 
Mexico.1 

Juan  Velazquez  de  Salazar,  son  of  Gonzalo,  was  a  native  of 
Granada.2  He  married  Doha  Ana  de  Esquivel,  daughter  of  the 
tesorero,  Alonso  de  Merida.3  By  1604,  the  greater  number  of  his 
children  and  their  descendants  were  deceased,  but  his  daughter 
Doha  Francisca  de  la  Cadena  y  Salazar,  married  Gaspar  de 
Rivadeneira,  and  they  had  children.  In  1604  were  also  living 
three  unmarried  daughters  of  Juan  Velazquez,  who  were  cousins 
of  Juan  de  Onate.4  Juan  Velazquez  was  not  a  conquistador  but 
an  encomendero  appointed  by  Cortes,  as  was  also  Don  Cristobal, 
his  brother-in-law.5 

Although,  as  stated,  Juan  de  Onate’s  father,  Don  Cristobal, 
arrived  in  Mexico  in  1524,  the  first  record  of  actual  service  is  as 
captain  in  the  confidence  of  Nuho  de  Guzman,  and  the  recipient 
of  generous  gifts  of  pueblos,  which  of  right  belonged  to  Cortes 
and  others.6  This  was  in  1528-29,  during  the  period  of  the 
first  Audiencia.  In  his  relations  with  Guzman,  his  self-respect 
and  conservatism  are  a  striking  contrast  to  the  “unprincipled 
ambition  of  the  self-sufficient  autocrat.”  Don  Cristobal  was  one 
of  the  conquerors  of  New  Galicia.7  He  proved  himself  equal  to 
the  difficulties  and  responsibilities  of  the  situation  he  encountered, 


1  Bancroft,  Hist.  Mexico,  vol.  2,  pp.  143-145,  193-237.  Salazar  y  Olarte, 

p.  284,  says :  “Gonzalo  de  Salazar  deseoso  de  ser  unico  en  el  dominio  de  la  Nueva 
Espana.”  Also,  ibid.,  pp.  282-283  :  “  No  se  ignora  la  confianza  de  nuestro  celebre 

capit&n  &  favor  de  Pedro  Almindez  Chirinos  y  de  Gonzalo  de  Salazar  ;  pues  vencido 
de  la  persuasion,  6  pagadd  de  la  lisonja  (ruido  agradable  de  la  fantasia,  y  flecha, 
que  destruye  el  mundo  de  la  razon),  quiso  conferirles  el  govierno  de  la  Nueva 
Espana.”  Data  bearing  on  the  indebtedness  left  by  Hernando  de  Salazar  has  been 
taken  from  Carranza,  p.  290. 

2  Carranza,  pp.  289-290. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  269  :  “Alonso  de  Merida,  thesorero  que  fu6  de  la  Casa  de  la  Moneda 
y  Senor  de  la  Provincia  de  Metztitlan.  Quedo  en  esta  casa  y  sucesion  Francisco 
de  Quintana  Duenas,  y  en  la  encomienda  por  casamiento  con  Dona  Mariana  de 
Merida,  nieta  del  dicho  thesorero  por  varon.” 

4  Ibid.,  p.  290. 

6  “  Memorial  de  los  que  no  son  conquistadores  y  tienen  Yndios  encomendados  de 
el  Marques  de  el  Valle.”  Incorporated  in  Carranza,  p.456.  Cortes  gave  freely  to 
recently  arrived  friends  who  had  taken  no  part  in  the  conquest.  Cort6s,  Residencia, 
pp.  48,  81-82,  259-262. 

6  Nuno  de  Guzrn&n  was  a  native  of  Guadalajara  in  Castile,  and  a  “ Caballero 
notorio.”  It  is  not  known  whether  he  left  any  descendants,  and  Carranza  only 
knew  Diego  de  Guzm&n,  a  nephew  of  Nuno,  in  Mexico.  Carranza,  p.  306. 

7  For  most  of  the  events  of  this  rebellion  and  the  work  of  Onate  therein,  we 
are  indebted  to  the  three  early  chroniclers :  Tello,  Hist.  N.  Gal.,  362-438 ; 
Mota  Padilla,  Conquista  de  Nueva  Galicia,  111-154;  Beaumont,  Cron.  Mich., 
IV,  59-66  ;  386-421  ;  Ms.  300-303  ;  422-425  ;  550-580.  Herrera  also  speaks  of  these 


ANCESTRY  AND  FAMILY  OF  JUAN  DE  ONATE  457 


and  the  characteristics  of  the  Basque  people  stood  him  in  good 
stead.  His  obstinate  conservatism  during  the  Mixton  War,  com¬ 
bined  with  intelligence  and  executive  ability,  make  Don  Cristobal 
a  type  figure.  Throughout  his  strenuous  career  in  the  new  world, 
and  more  particularly  during  this  rebellion,  his  courage,  combined 
with  other  qualities  characterized  as  inherent  in  the  “Senores  de 
Viscaya,”  1  are  apparent. 

While  Don  Cristobal  was  in  Galicia,  his  family  was  in  the  pueblo 
of  Tacambaro  in  the  province  of  Michoacan,  of  which  he  was  en- 
comendero ,2  He  was  also  encomendero  of  Culhuacan,  two  leagues 
from  the  city  of  Mexico.3  His  brother,  Juan  de  Onate,  took  a 
very  active  part  in  the  conquest  of  New  Galicia,  and  about  1531 
was  sent  to  establish  Espfritu  Santo,  called  later  Guadalajara  in 
honor  of  Guzman’s  birthplace.4  The  movements  of  Don  Juan 
prior  to  this  time  are  not  clear.  He  was  a  staunch  partisan  of 
Guzman,  and  after  the  fall  of  the  latter  his  brother  Don  Cristobal 
advised  him  to  escape.  He  fled  to  Peru,  where,  as  some  say,  he 
died  poor  and  blind.5 

The  relations  of  Guzman’s  successor,  Diego  Perez  de  la  Torre,6 
and  Don  Cristobal  were  most  friendly,  and  upon  the  death  of  the 
former  in  the  revolt  of  1538,  he  formally  appointed  Cristobal 
de  Onate  his  successor  as  governor,  and  entrusted  to  his  protec¬ 
tion  his  two  marriageable  daughters.  Onate  proved  faithful  to 
the  trust.7 

In  the  year  1548  we  find  Cristobal  de  Onate  in  Zacatecas,  with 
his  friends  Diego  de  Ibarra,  Baltasar  Trevino  de  Banuelos,  and 
Juan  de  Tolosa,  all  Spanish  officers  of  rank,  in  search  of  mines.8 


events.  Original  documents  on  the  subject  are  few,  according  to  Bancroft,  Hist. 
Mexico,  vol.  2,  p.  511. 

1  Arlegui,  p.  58  ;  Villagrd,  Canto  Tercero. 

1  Mota  Padilla,  Conquista  de  Nueva  Galicia,  193. 

3  Carranza,  p.  315.  By  royal  cedula  issued  February  1534,  New  Spain  was 
divided  into  four  provinces,  designated  as  Mexico,  Michoacan,  Goazacoalco,  and 
Miztecapan.  The  limits  of  each  were  properly  defined.  Bancroft,  Hist.  Mexico, 
vol.  2,  p.  391,  according  to  Puga,  Cedulario,  pp.  90-91. 

4  Bancroft,  Hist.  Mexico,  vol.  2,  p.  366. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  462. 

6  Appointed  governor  of  Nueva  Galicia  by  cedula,  March  17,  1536.  Mota 
Padilla,  pp.  104-109. 

7  One  of  the  daughters  married  Jacinto  de  Pineda  y  Ledesma,  a  person  of  good 
birth,  and  the  other  married  the  alferez  mayor,  Fernando  Flores,  from  whom  Mota 
Padilla  claims  to  be  descended.  Bancroft,  Hist.  Mexico,  vol.  2,  p.  464. 

9  Bern&rdez,  p.  26.  For  portraits  of  these  four  men,  see  Berndrdez.  Tolosa  was 
known  as  ‘‘el  rico”  and  nicknamed  “barba  longa.” 


458 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


They  were  extremely  successful  in  their  ventures,  becoming  the 
wealthiest  men  in  America  at  that  time.1  Don  Cristobal  came  to 
Zacatecas  accompanied  by  his  family,  and  all  others  who  might 
desire  to  accompany  him.2  The  deeds  of  this  illustrious  sire  are 
praised  by  all  of  his  chroniclers,  and  the  generosity  which  he  dis¬ 
played  in  Zacatecas  is  held  to  be  equal  to  the  munificence  of  the 
wealthiest  principes  del  universe?  One  of  his  chroniclers  calls 
him  “  son  of  the  most  noble  and  ever  loyal  province  of  Alava,  whose 
sons  ever  noble  and  generous,  have  always  proved  themselves 
magnanimous  and  renowned.”4  His  Christian  and  fervent  piety 
is  attested  to  on  various  occasions.  While  in  Zacatecas  he  had  a 
bell  with  which  he  daily  summoned  to  his  table  all  who  might 
desire  to  eat,  a  practice  which  he  continued  throughout  his  life.5 
That  he  was  an  excellent  specimen  of  the  old  time  sire,  consider¬ 
ate,  kind,  and  courteous,  cannot  be  disputed.  The  Reverend  Padre 
Fray  Diego  de  Vasalanque  of  the  order  of  St.  Augustine,  states 
that  in  order  to  recount  the  praises  due  to  Onate  because  of  his 
generosity,  an  u  historia  particular”  would  be  required,  that  his 
nobility,  his  courage,  and  his  liberality  kept  pace  with  his  Chris¬ 
tian  spirit ;  that  he  endeavored  to  care  for  the  Indians  as  if  they 
were  his  own,  and  neither  he  nor  his  son  Don  Fernando  collected 
the  tribute  6  from  the  Indians  for  many  years,  but  permitted  them 
to  receive  the  benefit  thereof,  so  as  to  help  them  in  the  construction 
of  the  missions.7  Mota  Padilla  takes  occasion  to  remark  that  Don 
Cristobal  could  not  have  been  like  the  other  conquistador es?  The 
date  of  his  death  has  not  been  determined,  but  we  know  that 
both  he  and  his  wife  were  deceased  at  the  time  Carranza  wrote, 
which  was  in  1604.  How  many  years  prior  to  that  date  we  do 
not  know.9 

Juan  de  Onate,  son  of  Cristobal  and  Dona  Cathalina  de  Salazar, 
was  born  in  Mexico,10  although  we  do  not  know  the  date  or  his 

1  Bancroft,  Hist.  Mexico,  vol.  2,  p.  554. 

2  Frejes,  Historia  Breve,  p.  124;  Bern&rdez,  p.  26.  For  the  founding  of  Zaca¬ 
tecas,  see  Berndrdez,  pp.  1-90;  Mota  Padilla,  p.  191. 

3  Arlegui,  pp.  58-59. 

4  Ibid.,  pp.  58-59. 

6  Ibid .,  p.  58;  Bern&rdez,  p.  26. 

c  For  history  of  Tributos  y  Reales  Servicios,  see  Fonseca,  VI. 

’  Mota  Padilla,  p.  103. 

8  Ibid.,  p.  103. 

9  Carranza,  p.  315. 

10  Mercurio  Volante,  p.  2 ;  VillagrA,  prologo,  fol.  vi. 


ANCESTRY  AND  FAMILY  OF  JUAN  DE  ONATE  459 


native  town.1  We  know  little  of  his  youth,  although  we  may  infer 
that  in  a  stimulating  environment  he  had  every  advantage  that 
good  birth  and  opportunities  could  bestow.  He  entered  the  ser¬ 
vice  of  the  king  early  in  life  and  continued  therein  throughout  his 
career,  being  still  active  in  1620. 2  His  general  services  cover 
“bloody  encounters  with  the  Chichimecs,  the  discovery  of  the 
rich  mines  of  Zichu,3  Charcas,  and  San  Luis  Potosf,  which  he 
peopled  with  Spaniards,  as  well  as  being  the  settler  of  New  Mexico, 
where  he  brought  many  natives  to  the  obedience  of  the  king, 
thereby  immortalizing  himself  in  the  history  of  both  hemispheres.”4 
He  has  been  compared  in  daring  to  Cortes  and  in  adventure  to 
Columbus.5 

Juan  de  Ohate  married  Doha  Isabel  Tolosa  Cortes  Montezuma, 
great  granddaughter  of  Montezuma,  granddaughter  of  Cortes, 
daughter  of  Juan  de  Tolosa  and  Leonor  Cortes  de  Montezuma.6 


1  Davis,  Spanish  Conquest  of  New  Mexico ,  p.  263,  says:  “Don  Juan  de  Onate, 
native  of  Zacatecas,”  but  no  reference  is  given  as  to  source  of  information. 

1  Berndrdez,  p.  32,  according  to  Haro’s  Nobilario:  “Don  Juan  de  Onate,  re- 
spondiendo  &  su  valor  y  virtud  militar  despues  de  aver  fervido  a  la  corona  de  los 
Reyes  sus  Senores  fus  primeros  afios  hafta  el  presente  de  1620,  con  honor.” 

3  Carranza,  p.  129. 

*  Berndrdez,  p.  32. 

5  Tribaldo  de  Toledo,  Villagrd,  Cancidn  Pindarica. 

6  Villagrd,  Canto  Sexto;  Berndrdez,  p.  31;  Luis  Tribaldo  de  Toledo,  Soneto, 
Intro.,  Villagrd;  Arlegui,  1st  ed.,  p.  34.  Cortds  was  first  married  in  Cuba  to 
Catalina  Sudrez,  a  native  of  Granada,  in  Andalusia.  Her  death  occurred  in  1522. 
It  is  supposed  that  by  her  he  had  a  child,  but  nothing  definite  can  be  ascertained 
on  this  point.  A  natural  daughter  by  a  Cuban  Indian  is  also  mentioned  at  that 
time.  His  second  marriage  was  with  Dona  Juana  de  Zuniga.  Bancroft,  Hist. 
Mexico,  vol.  2,  p.  483.  From  the  second  marriage  he  had  a  son  Don  Martin  Cortes, 
“que  sucedid  en  su  casa  y  estado  y  vino  d  tener  ciento  y  sesenta  mill  pesos  en  renta, 
y  en  discurso  de  34  afios  creo  que  han  quedado  en  quarenta  mill  y  se  va  consumiendo 
de  manera  que  d  poco  rato  6  tiempo  se  imagina  una  gran  ruina  y  acabamiento, 
porque  los  indios  se  acaban  d  prisa.”  Carranza,  p.  99.  Don  Martin  was  married 
to  Dona  Ana  Ramirez  de  Arellano,  daughter  of  the  Conde  de  Aguilar.  They  had 
a  child,  Don  Fernado  Cortds,  third  Marquis,  who  married  Dona  Theresa  de  la 
Cerda,  sister  of  the  Conde  Chinc.h6n.  Don  Martin  also  had  another  son,  Don 
Geronimo  Cortds,  “del  hdbito  de  Santiago,”  who  had  died  before  Carranza  wrote, 
i.e.  1604.  Also  Don  Pedro  Pizarro  Cortes,  “del  habito  de  Calatrava  u  Alcdntara.” 
In  1604  he  still  lived  and  had  inherited  the  estate  of  his  brother,  Don  Fernado. 
Carranza,  pp.  99-100.  Don  Martin  also  had  a  daughter  Dona  Catalina  Pizarro, 
who  married  the  Conde  de  Pliego.  According  to  Bancroft  these  last  two  children 
were  illegitimate.  Don  Martin  married  a  second  time,  but  Carranza  says  there 
was  no  issue.  Cortds,  the  original  Marquds  del  Valle,  also  had  through  the  Zuniga 
marriage  three  daughters,  Dona  Catalina,  who  died  single  ;  Dona  Juana  Cortds, 
who  married  the  Duque  de  Alcala,  Marques  de  Tarifa ;  Dona  Maria  Cortds,  who 
married  the  Conde  de  Luna,  in  the  city  of  Leon.  Cortds  also  had  several  illegiti¬ 
mate  children.  Don  Martin  Cortds  was  the  son  of  la  Malinche,  an  Indian  woman. 
He  belonged  to  the  “hdbito  de  Santiago.”  This  illegitimate  son  left  an  illegitimate 
son,  Don  Fernando  Cortes,  of  whom  Carranza  says:  “Trae  una  cruz  d  los  pechos, 
y  no  de  la  muestra  y  calidad  que  su  padre  y  tios  y  primos.  Hubole  en  Castilla  en 
una  senora,  en  la  ciudad  de  Logrono,  que  sin  ofensa  de  su  calidad  pudiera  easarse 
con  ella,  y  aun  con  cste  coneepto  se  fio  ella  de  el.  Hubole  pasando  d  la  guerra  de 


460 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


They  had  two  children,  Cristobal  de  Onate  and  Maria  de  Onate. 
Dona  Maria  married  the  Maestre  de  Cavipo,  Vicente  de  Zaldivar.1 
In  1620,  at  the  time  of  the  publication  of  Haro’s  Nobilario,  the 
son  was  not  married  and  was  active  in  the  service  of  the  king.  At 
that  time  he  had  already  shown  great  courage,  and  had  held  the 
position  of  lieutenant-governor  and  captain-general  in  the  province 
of  New  Mexico,  where  he  had  served  Philip  II  and  Philip  III, 
demonstrating  the  soldierly  qualities  and  the  nobility  of  his  ante¬ 
cedents.2 

Where  and  when  the  lad  was  born,  or  where  he  obtained  his 
“early  ”  education,  we  do  not  know.  That  his  father  took  pleasure 
in  developing  in  his  young  son  the  martial  spirit  so  predominant 

Granada,  por  capitan,  donde  murio.”  Martin  Cortds,  son  of  Malinche,  also  had 
a  daughter  Dona  Ana  Cortes  de  Porres,  through  his  marriage  with  Dona  Bernardina 
de  Porres,  “senora  de  gran  calidad,  seso  y  discrecion.”  Dona  Ana  Cortes  de 
Porres  was  married  to  a  ‘‘caballero  muy  igual  a  su  merecimiento  ”  whose  name  is 
not  given  by  Carranza.  They  had  a  son,  Don  Juan  Cortes,  who  in  1604  had  re¬ 
cently  arrived  in  the  fleet  which  brought  the  viceroy  Marques  de  Montesclaros,  to 
whom  Carranza  dedicated  his  work.  He  states  that  in  his  intercourse  with  Don 
Juan,  he  has  always  found  him  honorable  and  worthy  on  account  of  his  virtues, 
being  the  son  and  grandson  and  great-grandson  of  worthy  persons.  His  exact 
language  is  interesting :  ‘‘de  lo  poco  que  he  tratado  &  este  caballero,  y  de  la  buena 
fama  que  tiene,  le  conozco  por  muy  cuerdo  y  honrado  y  que  es  digno,  por  sus  vir- 
tudes,  de  ser  hijo  y  nieto  de  quien  es,  y  bisnieto  del  gran  Cortes.”  Carranza,  pp.  100- 
101.  Again,  Cortes,  the  original  Marques  del  Valle,  had  a  daughter  Dona  Leonor 
Cort4s,  who  married  Juan  de  Tolosa  in  Zacatecas.  Dona  Leonor  was  the  daughter 
of  Dona  Isabel,  oldest  daughter  of  Montezuma.  Dona  Leonor  had  two  daughters, 
one  of  whom  married  Don  Juan  de  Onate,  the  other  married  Cristobal  de  Zaldivar. 
Dona  Leonor  also  had  other  daughters  whose  names  are  not  given,  but  who  in  1604, 
were  nuns  in  Seville.  Carranza,  pp.  100-101.  Cortes  also  had  another  illegitimate 
son,  Don  Luis  Cortes,  ‘‘del  habito  de  Calatrava,”  que  hubo  en  esta  tierra  en  una 
muger  spanola,  no  de  las  mas  ignotas  y  escondidas,  sino  muger  de  buena  suerte.” 
This  Don  Luis  married  in  Mexico  Dona  Guimor  V&zquez  de  Escobar,  “dama  muy 
calificada,  rica  y  muy  hermosa.”  They  had  no  children.  Don  Luis  was  taken 
as  prisoner  to  Spain,  and  died  on  the  journey.  Both  he  and  his  brothers  died 
“  desnat.uralizados  de  su  patria,  pareciendose  mucho  a  su  padre  en  los  trabajos  que 
le  saltaron  como  atajado  En  Castilleja  de  la  Cuesta,  y  un  corazon,  tan  grande,  que 
no  cupo  en  el  mundo,  ni  se  harto  ni  Ueno  su  Animo  con  lo  que  descubrio  y  conquisto  : 
le  sobro  en  aquel  lugarejo  un  palmo  6  siete  pies  de  tierra  en  que  cupo  aquel  cuerpo 
y  bravosidad,  y  acabo  con  sus  grandes  pensamientos  y  deseos  de  servir  mas  a  su 
Rey,  como  lo  mostro  en  la  conquista  de  tan  grandes  reinos  y  estados,  y  en  los  que 
de  nuevo  quiso  conseguir  A  la  corona  de  Castilla  donde  gasto  toda  la  hacienda  que 
habia  adquirido.”  Carranza,  pp.  100-101.  Martin,  Luis  and  Catalina  were 
legitimatized  by  Papal  Bull,  April  16,  1529.  Bancroft,  p.  483,  according  to  Alaman, 
Disert.,  ii,  2d,  app.  32-36.  Philip  II  later  restored  the  “ jurisdiccion  del  Mar- 
quesado,  con  muy  honradas  palabras  y  efectos,”  to  Don  Fernando  Cortes  third 
MarquAs  del  Valle,  and  second  by  the  name  of  Fernando.  In  1604,  Don  Pedro 
Cortes,  his  brother,  had  inherited  the  same.  Carranza  states  that  if  he  is  ‘‘cuerdo, 
no  deseara  venir  A  las  Indias,  porque  esta  tierra  no  sufre  mas  sefior  que  al  que  aqui 
nos  gobierna  por  Su  Magestad.”  Carranza,  pp.  100-101.  Salazar  y  Olarte, 
2a  parte,  p.  472  states:  “cuya  bastarda  impresion  llego  a  desconocerse  con  el  re- 
cuerdo  de  la  nobleza  de  nuestro  capitan,  haviendose  casado  con  Caballeros  distin- 
guidos  y  permanentes  en  la  gran  ciudad  de  Mexico. 

1  Bernardez,  p.  34,  according  to  Haro’s  Nobilario;  Mota  Padilla,  p.  193. 

i  Ibid.,  pp.  34-35,  according  to  Haro’s  Nobilario. 


ANCESTRY  AND  FAMILY  OF  JUAN  DE  ONATE  461 


in  his  own  character  and  that  of  his  ancestors,  going  back  to  the 
Moorish  struggles  in  Spain,  is  evident  when  we  learn  that  when 
not  yet  ten  years  of  age  he  accompanied  his  father  on  his  ex¬ 
peditions.1 

The  ancestry  of  Cristobal,  Juan  de  Onate’s  young  son,  great- 
great  grandson  of  Montezuma,  and  great  grandson  of  Cortes,  is 
interestingly  given  by  Villagra  : 2 

“  En  quien  vereis  al  uiuo  cifrados, 

Todos  los  nobles  Reyes  que  falieron, 

Deftas  nuevas  Regiones  y  plantaron, 

La  gran  ciudad  de  Mexico,  y  con  ellos, 

Vereis  tambien  aquellos  valero^os, 

Que  a  fuer^as  de  valor  y  de  trabajos, 

Eftas  remotas  tierras  pretendieron.” 


Juan  de  Ohate  had  four  brothers :  Don  Fernando,  whom  we 
have  already  seen  associated  with  his  father ;  Don  Cristobal, 
Luys  Nunez  Perez,  and  Don  Alonso,  all  of  whom  were  wealthy, 
and  were  summoned  by  Don  Juan  to  help  him  in  his  work  of  ex¬ 
ploration  in  New  Mexico.  They  rendered  him  valuable  assistance 
financially  and  acted  as  his  agents  in  the  responsible  govern¬ 
mental  transactions  which  developed  out  of  this  exploration  and 
settlement  of  New  Mexico,  his  most  important  undertaking.3 
Don  Fernando  is  described  in  1604  as  a  “cavallero  muy  prin¬ 
cipal.”  He  had  been  alcalde  mayor  of  the  cities  of  Los  Angeles, 
Guajocingo  and  Villa  de  Carrion.”  4 

1  Villagrd,  Canto  Sexto. 

“Y  qual  fuelen  las  Aguilas  Reales, 

Que  &  los  tiernos  polluelos  de  fu  nido, 

Largo  trecho  los  facan  y  remontan, 

Para  que  con  esfuergo  cobren  fuenjas, 

En  el  libiano  buelo,  y  del  fe  balgan, 

En  prouechofa  y  dieftra  alteneria, 

Afsi  determino  don  Juan  faliefe, 

Su  hijo  don  Chriftdval,  nino  tierno, 

Para  que  con  el  fueffe  y  fe  adeftrafe, 

Sirbiendoos  gran  fefior  en  el  oficio, 

De  la  importante  guerra  trabajofa, 

Siendo  teftigo  fiel  de  fus  palabras, 

Para  que  con  las  obras  que  alii  viefe, 

Le  tuuieffe  defpues  en  bien  ferbiros, 

Por  vnico  dechado,  y  claro  exemplo.” 

*  Canto  Sexto.  s  Ibid.  *  Carranza,  p.  315. 


462 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


He  married  Dona  Leonor  de  Rivadeneira,  daughter  of  Hernando 
de  Rivadeneira  and  Dona  Maria  de  Merida,  his  wife,  daughter  of 
the  tesorero  Alonso  de.  Merida  and  Dona  Ines  de  Perea,  his  wife. 
They  had  several  children :  Don  Fernando,  the  younger,  Don 
Cristobal,  and  Doha  Antonia,  who  married  Don  Bernardino 
Vazquez  de  Tapia.  They  also  had  a  daughter  Doha  Catalina, 
who  had  not  married  in  1604,  and  is  described  as  so  good  a 
Christian  that  she  was  desirous  of  entering  a  convent  so  as  to 
better  serve  God.1 

Don  Cristobal  married  Doha  Maria  del  Castillo  who  had  died 
prior  to  1604.  Upon  her  death  he  inherited  the  encomienda  of  his 
wife,  which  was  the  pueblo  of  Santiago  Tecali,  and  which  yielded 
handsome  returns.  They  had  no  children.2  Don  Cristobal  is 
mentioned  in  1599,  when,  acting  in  the  name  of  his  brother,  Juan 
de  Ohate,  he  appoints  Capitan  Gaspar  de  Villagra,  “Capitan 
de  Caballos.”  3  Juan  de  Ohate  also  had  a  sister,  Doha  Maria 
Galarza,4  who  married  Antonio  de  Ordaz.  Her  husband  inherited 
the  pueblos  of  Calpa  and  half  of  Chilapa  from  Diego  de  Ordaz 
Villagomez,  nephew  of  Diego  de  Ordaz,5  who  had  previously  been 
granted  these  pueblos  by  the  king  in  recognition  of  his  services. 
Don  Antonio  had  died  before  1604.  Their  daughter,  Juan  de 
(Mate’s  niece,  became  heir  to  the  various  pueblos,  being  of  the 
third  generation.  She  married  Ruy  Dias  de  Mendoza,6  her 

1  Carranza,  p.  315.  1  Ibid. 

3  Nombramiento  Real  de  Capitdn  de  Caballos  &  favor  del  Capitan  Gaspar  de 

Villagra,  Mexico,  Agosto  20,  1599.  In  Documentos  relativos  d  Gaspar  de  Villagrd, 
Apendice  Primero,  p.  40.  Incorporated  in  Obregon’s  Villagrd. 

4  Villagrd,  Canto  Honze. 

6  Diego  de  Ordaz,  Capitan  de  los  diez,  segundo  Procurador  General  que  fue  d 
Castilla.  Diego  de  Ordaz  came  over  with  Cortds  as  captain  of  one  of  the  vessels 
in  the  armada.  He  was  a  person  of  importance  in  New  Spain,  served  in  the  wars 
with  Cortes,  until  he  was  expelled  by  the  natives  from  the  city  of  Mexico.  He 
was  in  the  war  of  Tepeaca  and  there  held  the  position  of  captain  of  infantry,  and 
from  jthere  went  as  Procurador  to  Hayti  (“la  Isla  spanola”)  and  from  there  to 
Spain.  When  he  returned,  the  land  had  been  brought  under  subjection,  but 
notwithstanding  this,  he  was  given  Yautepec  with  its  Indians  and  Teutila  and 
Chiautla,  and  also  the  province  of  Huejocingo.  He  then  went  as  governor  to  the 
Rio  Maranon,  and  through  his  services  and  qualities  secured  the  “hdbito  de  San¬ 
tiago.”  This  Diego  de  Ordaz  was  one  of  the  courageous  men  who  ascended  the 
volcano  of  Popocatepetl.  Although  eminently  successful  in  Mexico,  having  re¬ 
ceived  pueblos  and  encomiendas,  he  never  seemed  satisfied  and  ever  sought  new 
successes.  He  had  no  legitimate  descendants,  but  he  had  an  illegitimate  son  Alvaro 
de  Ordaz,  whom  Carranza  knew  personally,  and  whom  they  called  "el  volcan” 
in  memory  of  his  father.  He  was  considered  as  legitimate,  and  was  married  to 
Ana  de  Ordaz.  They  had  children,  but  all,  both  parents  and  children,  were  very 
poor.  Carranza,  pp.  170,  455. 

6  Villagrd,  Canto  Sexto. 


ANCESTRY  AND  FAMILY  OF  JUAN  DE  OftATE  463 


cousin,  who  later  helped  Juan  de  Onate  very  materially  in  his 
work  of  exploration  and  settlement  of  New  Mexico.  Both  were 
living  in  1604.  Juan  de  Onate  at  this  time  had  another  niece, 
whose  name  is  not  given,  and  who  was  not  married.1 

The  Zaldfvar  brothers,  Cristobal,  Francisco,  Juan,  and  Vicente 
were  Juan  de  Onate’s  cousins.2  According  to  Villagra,  Juan  de 
Onate’s  father  was  the  uncle  of  the  Zaldfvars.3  Their  mother’s 
name  seems  to  have  been  Onate,  but  whether  she  was  Don  Cris¬ 
tobal  de  Onate’s  sister  has  not  been  determined.  The  father  of 
the  Zaldfvar  brothers  was  Juan  or  Vicente  de  Zaldfvar.4  The 
Zaldfvars  were  distinguished  persons  in  the  service  of  the  king, 
proving  the  valor  and  worth  of  the  illustrious  and  ancient  house 
of  Zaldfvar,  well  known  in  Vizcaya,  because  of  its  acknowledged 
merit.5 

Doha  Isabel,  wife  of  Juan  de  Onate,  had  a  brother  Juan  Cortes, 
who  in  1620  had  not  married.  Doha  Isabel’s  sister,  Doha  Leonor 
Cortes,  married  Cristobal  de  Zaldfvar,  brother  of  the  Maestre  de 
Campo.6  They  had  two  children ,  J uan  and  Leonor,  who  were  cousins 
of  Juan  de  Onate’s  children,  Cristobal  and  Marfa.  Doha  Isabel’s 
mother,  Doha  Leonor  de  Cortes  Montezuma,  daughter  of  Cortes 
and  granddaughter  of  Montezuma,7  in  1604  had  other  daughters 
who  were  nuns  in  Seville.8 

As  already  noted,  when  Cristobal  de  Onate  came  to  Zacatecas 
in  1548,  we  do  not  know  whether  Juan  de  Onate  was  yet  born. 
In  the  data  available  to  the  writer,  the  first  record  of  Juan’s  service 


1  Carranza,  p.  171. 

*  Villagrd,  Canto  Sexto;  Duro,  Don  Diego  de  Pefialosa  (1548);  Torquemada, 
p.  671. 

3  Villagrd,  Canto  Tercero  and  Sexto  ;  Torquemada,  p.  671. 

4  Bern&rdez,  according  to  Haro’s  Nobilario,  calls  him  Vicente,  but  Mota  Padilla 
states  that  his  name  was  Juan  and  not  Vicente,  and  that  he  was  not  governor,  but 
one  of  the  illustrious  captains  contemporaneous  with  Cristobal  de  Onate,  Don 
Juan’s  father.  Mota  Padilla,  p.  196. 

6  Haro  intended  to  make  further  mention,  as  he  himself  states,  of  this  illustrious 
family  in  his  vol.  4,  when  dealing  more  in  detail  with  the  illustrious  houses  of  Spain. 
This  work  is  not  available  beyond  quotations  therefrom,  interpolated  in  the  works 
of  other  authorities.  It  undoubtedly  would  contain  valuable  data  in  a  genealogical 
way,  and  might  clear  some  of  the  points  now  left  pending,  e.g.  whether  the  Zaldivar 
boys  were  Onate’s  cousins  or  "sobrinos”  as  he  calls  them,  according  to  Bancroft. 
From  what  has  preceded  it  is  evident  that  by  reason  of  the  marriage  of  Christ6bal 
Zaldivar  to  Juan  de  Onate’s  sister-in-law,  any  issue  therefrom  would  be  his  “so¬ 
brinos”  or  “sobrinas”  by  marriage. 

6  Bern&rdez,  p.  25,  according  to  Haro’s  Nobilario;  Arlegui,  p.  135;  Carranza, 

pp.  100-101. 

7  Villagrd,  Canto  Sexto  ;  Arlegui,  p.  135. 

8  Carranza,  pp.  100-101. 


464 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


is  in  Zacatecas  in  1574, 1  when  “immediately  after  the  founding  of 
the  eighth  mission  in  the  province  of  Zacatecas,  namely :  Santa 
Maria  de  las  Charcas,  the  barbarous  Indians  reduced  it  to  ashes. 
Because  of  the  gentle  preaching  of  the  friars,  and  with  untold 
hardships,  they  were  able  to  rebuild  it,  help  being  furnished  by 
Juan  de  Onate,  son  of  Cristobal  de  Onate.  The  mission  was  re¬ 
built  in  1583.”  2 

We  also  find  that  “in  1583, 3  San  Luis  Potosi  was  discovered, 
conquered  and  settled  by  Juan  de  Onate,”4  according  to  Arlegui 
and  Bernardez.  With  the  exception  of  this  limited  information 
as  to  specific  service  in  the  early  part  of  his  career,  we  must  leave 
Don  Juan  until  he  began  negotiations  for  the  settlement  of  New 
Mexico,  for  the  king  of  Spain.  At  the  time  that  he  petitioned  he 
was  residing  in  Zacatecas.  His  age,  his  previous  success,  “and 
his  general  characteristics  ”  5  have  been  aptly  embraced  in  the  ex¬ 
pression  “hombre  de  buenas  partes,”  prerequisites  for  final  suc¬ 
cess.  “He  seemed  better  fitted  than  others  who  had  previously 
undertaken  the  enterprise.”  6 


1  Arlegui,  1st  ed.,  reads  1574;  2d  ed.,  reads  1564. 

J  Berndrdez,  p.  32 ;  Arlegui,  p.  66. 

3  Arlegui,  pp.  56-57,  134-135  ;  Bern&rdez,  p.  32. 

4  Bern&rdez,  pp.  32-33,  says  1586.  Bancroft,  Hist.  Mexico ,  vol.  2,  p.  763,  states  : 
“In  1576  Luis  de  Leixa  had  penetrated  northeastward  and  on  the  slope  of  a  metal 
bearing  mountain  he  founded  the  town  of  San  Luis  Potosi.”  Friar  Diego  de  la 
Magdalena  is  also  claimed  as  the  founder.  Ibid.,  p.  763.  The  San  Luis  Potosi 
Relacion  Circuns.,  calls  Onate,  “descubridor,  conquistador,  y  poblador  de  San 
Luis,  1583.”  See  Bancroft,  Hist.  Ariz.  and  New  Mexico,  p.  116. 

6  Villagrd  substantiates  these  qualifications  of  Onate  when  he  says : 

“Afsi  don  Juan  fin  aguardar  mas  plazo, 

Llamado  de  la  fuerca  y  voz  de  Marte, 

Y  de  la  illuftre  fangre  generofa, 

De  todos  fus  maiores  y  paffados, 

Y  deftos  grandes  Reyes  que  dezimos, 

Como  el  prudente  Griego  que  las  armas, 

Del  valerofo  Aquiles  pretendia, 

Por  deuida  jufticia  que  alegaua, 

Afsi  dio  en  pretender  aquefta  imprefa, 

Por  el  derecho  grande  que  tenia, 

A  ferbiros  en  ella  fin  que  alguno, 

Otro  mejor  derecho  le  moftrafe.” 

Canto  Sexto. 

'“Memorial  sobre  el  descubrimiento,”  Col.  Doc.  Ined.,  vol.  16,  pp.  188-189; 
“  Carta  del  Virrey  Velasco  de  14  de  Octubre,  1595.” 


JAPAN  AND  AUSTRALASIA 


JAPAN’S  EARLY  ATTEMPTS  TO  ESTABLISH  COM¬ 
MERCIAL  RELATIONS  WITH  MEXICO 


Naojiro  Murakami 

It  is  only  ten  years  since  the  steamers  of  the  Toyo  Kisen  Kwaisha 
began  to  run  between  the  ports  of  Japan  and  Mexico,  but  attempts 
to  open  the  same  route  were  made  more  than  three  hundred  years 
ago  by  one  of  the  greatest  statesmen  of  Japan. 

At  that  time,  Japan  was  carrying  on  an  active  foreign  commerce, 
and  the  Daimyos  vied  with  each  other  in  inviting  foreign  vessels 
—  Portuguese,  Spanish  and  Chinese  —  to  their  own  ports.  This 
was,  however,  limited  to  Kyushu,  and  the  Daimyos  of  the  northern 
provinces  had  no  share  in  the  lucrative  commerce. 

In  December,  1598,  Fray  Geronimo  de  Jesus  of  the  Franciscan 
Order,  who  came  from  Manila  in  May  of  the  same  year  and  was 
secretly  ministering  to  the  Christians  in  the  Province  of  Ise,  was 
found  out  and  taken  to  the  presence  of  Iyeyasu,  then  newly  in¬ 
trusted  with  the  government  of  the  country  during  the  minority 
of  Hideyori,  heir  of  Hideyoshi,  and  destined  to  be  the  founder  of 
the  Tokugawa  family  of  Shoguns.  Iyeyasu  wished  to  seize  this 
opportunity  for  the  development  of  the  resources  of  his  own 
provinces,  and  in  the  course  of  conversation  with  Fray  Geronimo 
expressed  his  intention  of  giving  up  the  menacing  attitude  of 
Japan  taken  in  the  time  of  Hideyoshi  towards  the  Philippine 
Islands,  and  of  being  friendly  to  the  missionaries.  He  told  the 
friar  that  the  Spanish  ships  from  Luzon  Island  would  be  welcome 
to  the  ports  of  his  provinces  of  Kwanto  and  that  he  would  also 
like  to  establish  commercial  relations  with  New  Spain.  In  order 
to  prepare  for  it,  he  wished  to  build  ships  after  Spanish  models  and 
he  desired  the  Philippine  government  to  send  some  ship-carpenters 
and  also  pilots  and  sailors  to  teach  navigation.  Fray  Geronimo 
accordingly  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Governor  of  the  Philippine 

467 


46S 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Islands,  informing  him  of  the  desire  of  Iyeyasu  and  begging  him  to 
send  merchant  ships  to  Kwanto  and  also  to  give  all  the  necessary 
help  for  opening  commerce  between  Japan  and  New  Spain,  as  it 
would  be  conducive  to  the  propagation  of  Christianity  in  Japan. 
This  letter  was  taken  in  1599  by  a  messenger  of  Iyeyasu,  Gioyemon 
by  name,  a  native  of  Sakai.1 

In  those  days  the  Philippine  Islands  were  continually  harassed 
by  Japanese  pirates,  and  since  Hideyoshi  sent  an  embassy  in  1592 
to  demand  subjection  of  the  Islands  to  Japan,  the  government 
of  Manila  was  always  in  fear  of  a  Japanese  invasion.  The  con¬ 
fiscation  of  the  ship  San  Felipe  in  1597  and  the  subsequent 
crucifixion  of  Spanish  missionaries  almost  threatened  a  rupture 
between  the  two  countries.  The  promise  of  Iyeyasu  to  stop  all 
hostilities  and  to  promote  friendly  relations  with  the  Islands 
was,  therefore,  heartily  welcomed  by  the  Philippine  government.2 
No  immediate  steps,  however,  were  taken  in  response  to  the  letter 
of  Fray  Geronimo. 


1  See  the  letter  of  Fray  Gerdnimo  addressed  to  Juan  de  Santa"Maria,  given  in 
the  Annexe  to  Leon  Pagds’  Histoire  de  la  Religion  Chretienne  au  Japon.  In  a  docu¬ 
ment  in  the  Archivo  de  Indias  at  Seville,  entitled  :  Sobre  el  estado  de  las  Islas 
Philipinas  con  el  Japdn,  1600  ahos  (68-1-32)  the  following  account  is  given. 

‘‘Por  relacion  del  ano  passado  de  1599  se  auia  sabido  .  .  .  que  en  este  tiempo 
se  tubo  nueua  cierta  que  por  el  mes  de  otubre  de  99  auia  muerto  Taycosama  y 
dexado  sucessor  de  hedad  de  ocho  anos  y  se  gouernaua  el  Xapon  por  diez  gouerna- 
dores,  el  mayor  dellos  llamado  Dayfussama,  Rey  de  Quanto,  dexando  tan  buena 
orden  en  el  gouierno  que  estaua  en  la  mesma  paz  y  quietud  que  en  tiempo  del  Taico. 
Tanuien  auiso  que  en  nauios  Portugueses  que  salieron  dicho  ano  para  el  Xap6n 
se  enbarcaron  escondidamente  dos  padres  de  la  orden  de  San  Francisco  en  auitos 
de  seglares,  llamado  el  uno  Frai  Geronimo  de  Ihs,  que  antes  aula  ressidido  en  Xap6n 
en  compania  de  los  que  padecieron  muerte,  y  otro  Frai  Gomez,  con  dnimo  de  bolver 
d  mirar  por  sus  dicipulos  y  como  llegados  al  Xapon  fueron  sentidos  y  presso  Frai 
Gomez  y  por  solicitud  de  los  padres  de  la  Compania  suelto  embiado  d  Manila,  en 
nauio  que  no  auia  aportado  d  las  Philipinas,  y  que  Frai  Gerdnimo  se  escondio  y 
aunque  fueron  hechas  muchas  diligencias  por  mandado  del  rrey  no  pareeio  hasta 
que  despuds  de  su  muerte  se  manifesto  d  dicho  Dayfussama,  el  qual  le  tenia  en  su 
cassa  y  auia  escripto  le  daua  yglesia  y  con  que  sustentarse.  Asi  mismo  se  did 
auisso  como  este  Rey  Dayfussama  a  mucho  que  desea  trato  con  los  espanoles  y 
que  fuesen  d  su  Reino  de  Qudnto  (estd  d  la  parte  del  Norte  por  el  Japon)  por  el 
ynteres  que  se  le  podia  seguir  con  el  trato  y  comercio  en  su  Reino  de  los  espanoles 
y  que  auiendolo  entendido  Frai  Geronimo  de  Ihs,  le  trato  de  la  execucion  de  su 
desseo,  diciendo  que  lo  escribiria  d  las  Philipinas  y  seria  parte  para  que  dellas  fuessen 
nauios  d  su  tierra  y  que  haria  enbiar  maestros  de  hacer  nauios  d  usso  de  Espana  y 
pilotos  para  nauegallos  y  que  tanuien  se  le  ynbiaron  mineros  para  beneficiar  algunas 
minas  de  plata  que  tiene  en  su  tierra,  que  no  se  labran  por  no  tener  quien  lo  en- 
tienda  y  con  esto  persuadido  d  Dayfu  embiasse  persona  de  su  cassa  d  ello,  como  lo 
hizo  y  bino  d  Manila  con  carta  del  Padre  Frai  Geronimo  en  nombre  de  embaxador 
un  Japon  criado  de  Daifu  nombrado  Gioyemon.” 

2  See  the  letter  from  Governor  Don  Francisco  Tello  to  the  King  of  Spain  dated 
June,  1601,  in  Padre  Colin’s  Labor  Evangelica,  Ministerios  Apostdlicos  de  los  Obreros 
de  la  Compania  de  Jesus,  Fundacidn  y  Progresos  de  su  Provincia  en  las  Islas  Pili¬ 
pinas,  vol.  2,  p.  339. 


JAPAN  AND  MEXICO 


469 


Iyeyasu  was  then  busily  occupied  in  preparing  for  the  great 
struggle,  which  ended  in  the  victory  of  Sekigahara,  but  after  es¬ 
tablishing  his  authority  over  the  whole  of  Japan,  he  again  turned 
his  attention  to  the  matter.  In  October,  1601,  he  wrote  a  letter 
to  Governor  Tello,1  informing  him  that  according  to  the  latter’s 
request  he  had  caught  and  punished  the  Japanese  pirates  who 
ravaged  the  Islands  in  the  previous  years  and  diminished  the 
number  of  licenses  to  be  given  to  Japanese  junks  for  going  to  the 
Islands,  and  asking  the  governor  to  consider  his  request  concern¬ 
ing  the  commerce  with  New  Spain.  A  Franciscan  lay  brother  took 
this  letter  to  Manila,  with  another  from  the  governor  of  Nagasaki.2 
Antonio  de  Morga  mentions  the  arrival  at  Manila  in  1602  of  a 
certain  Chiquiro  sent  by  Iyeyasu.  Fray  Geronimo  is  also  said 
to  have  been  sent  to  Manila  in  the  same  year.3  These  repeated 
efforts  on  the  part  of  Iyeyasu  caused  the  Audiencia  to  decide  to 
send  a  ship  to  Kwanto,  when  in  May,  1602,  the  new  Governor, 
Don  Pedro  de  Acuna,  arrived  at  Manila.  The  news  of  the  arrival 
of  a  Dutch  ship  at  Bungo  in  April,  1600, 4  and  of  favors  shown  to 
the  crew  by  Iyeyasu  caused  the  governor  to  fear  lest  the  Dutch 
should  open  commerce  with  Japan  to  the  injury  of  the  Spanish 
interests.  Therefore  he  agreed  to  carry  out  the  arrangement 
already  made  and  sent  a  small  ship  to  Japan,  in  which  the  Fran¬ 
ciscan  brother  was  sent  back  with  his  letter  and  presents  for  Iye¬ 
yasu.  In  his  letter  to  the  latter,  dated  June  1,  1602, 5  the  gover¬ 
nor  said  that  although  his  predecessor  had  already  written  to  the 
viceroy  of  New  Spain  to  report  to  the  king  of  Spain  about  the 
desire  of  Iyeyasu,  he  was  going  to  do  so  again,  and  about  a  month 
later  he  wrote  to  the  king  6  asking  him  to  assent  to  the  requests  of 

1  See  the  Ikoku  Nikki  Sh6  (Extracts  from  a  diary  of  foreign  affairs,  kept  by  a 
secretary  of  Iyeyasu,  with  my  notes),  198,  199. 

1  A  Spanish  translation  is  preserved  in  the  Arehivo  de  Indias.  It  is  given  in 
the  Ikoku  Nikki  Shd,  appendix  No.  8,  and  also  in  Padre  Colin’s  work. 

3  See  Blair  and  Robertson’s  Philippine  Islands,  vol.  15,  pp.  251-258. 

*  The  Liefde,  the  only  remaining  ship  of  the  fleet  of  five  ships  which  sailed  from 
Texel  in  June,  1598,  to  come  to  the  South  Sea  by  way  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan, 
was  greatly  damaged  by  storms  and  forced  to  change  its  course  for  Japan  and 
arrived  at  a  port  of  Bungo  on  the  19th  of  April,  1600.  The  ship  was  ordered  to  go 
to  Sakai  and  thence  to  Uraga.  Captain  Quaeckernaeck  and  crew,  eighteen  in  all, 
were  kindly  treated  ;  some  of  them  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Sekigahara  and  with 
their  large  guns  helped  the  army  of  Iyeyasu  to  gain  victory  over  the  enemy. 

4  See  the  Ikoku  Nikki  Shd,  205,  200. 

6  Don  Pedro  says  in  his  letter  dated  July  11,  1602  (Arehivo  de  Indias,  67-6-19)  : 

“Las  cossas  del  Japon,  gloria  &  dios  se  van  mejorando  y  Dayfussama,  emperador 
que  agora  es  del,  no  se  muestra  enemigo  de  nuestra  religion  como  V.  Md.  entenderd 


470 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Iyeyasu,  as  it  would  bring  many  advantages,  among  which  be 
enumerates  the  opening  of  new  fields  for  the  missionaries,  provision 
of  the  Islands  with  flour  and  other  necessaries,  liberation  of  their 
coasts  from  pirates,  freedom  of  the  Spanish  ships  sailing  on  the 


por  las  copias  de  cartes  quel  y  otro  senor  de  aquel  reyno,  priuado  suyo  llamado 
Tara<?auaXimonocami,  y  el  obispo  de  Japon  escriuen,  que  van  con  feta,  y  por  hauerse 
entendido  quel  dicho  rey  desea  que  vayan  religiosos  de  aqui  y  hauer  lo  imbiado  A 
pedir  con  un  frayle  descahjo,  que  truxo  su  carta,  he  dado  licencia  A  algunos  de 
aquella  orden  que  han  ydo  este  ano  y  tambien  A  otras  de  las  de  Santo  Domingo 
y  San  Agustin  que  todos  lleuan  sus  hautios  al  modo  de  los  descalpos  y  assi  mismo 
he  despachado  un  patachuelo  pequeno  con  los  Franciscos,  que  assi  estaua  ya 
acordado  por  don  Francisco  Tello,  Audiencia  y  Junta  de  Hazienda,  cossa  muy 
deseada  y  pretendida  por  el  dicho  emperador  y  assi  le  lleua  A  cargo  persona  dili- 
gente  y  de  recaudo,  con  orden  de  que  vaya  al  vanda  del  norte  A  la  prouincia  de 
Quantoo,  ques  un  reyno  en  el  Japon  (Patrimonio  antiguo  deste  emperador),  para 
que  rreconozca  el  puerto  que  alii  ay  y  los  demAs  de  aquella  costa,  ques  paraje 
del  uiage  que  hazen  las  naos  que  de  aqui  van  A  Nueua  Espana,  que  no  es  de  poca 
consideration.  Dayfo  y  su  priuado  dan  A  entender  que  desean  que  V.  Md.  con- 
ceda  facultad  para  embiar  un  nauio  desde  Jap6n  A  Nueua  Espana,  A  contratar, 
y  que  estA  algo  sentido,  de  que  no  se  le  aya  respondido  A  este  punto  con  resolucidn. 
Parece  que  darle  la  licencia  que  pide  tiene  poco  inconuiniente  y  quando  la  tubiera 
es  de  creer  que  al  primer  viage  se  cansarAn  de  ussar  della,  pues  ni  son  marineros 
para  61,  ni  sus  nauios  A  propdsito,  ni  aun  las  cossas  que  pueden  imbiar  para  tener 
salida  dellas  en  Nueua  Espana.  Y  assi  suplico  A  V.  Md.  se  sirua  de  mandar  que 
con  breuedad  se  prouea  en  esto  lo  que  conuenga,  porque  de  acA  se  juzga  por  acertado 
tener  grato  este  rey,  assi  para  la  entrada  que  se  ofreze  para  ensanchar  nuestra  re¬ 
ligion  en  aquel  gran  Reyno,  como  por  escussar  las  inquietudes  que  suele  mober  en 
estas  Yslas,  y  tambiSn  porque  pasando  la  amistad  adelante  se  tiene  por  cierto  darA 
Puerto  en  su  tierra  A  las  naos  que  de  aqui  salen  para  Nueua  Espana,  si  lo  hubieren 
menester,  que  muchas  vezes  los  tiempos  recios  que  ay  por  aquel  parage  las  desa- 
parejan  y  no  atreuiendose  los  pilotos  A  arimarse  A  la  tierra  donde  pudieran  abrigarse 
y  repararse,  escarmentados  del  suceso  de  San  Felipe,  quieren  mAs  entregarse  al 
rigor  de  la  mar,  A  cuya  causa  han  sucedido  los  danos  que  se  an  visto  los  afios  pas- 
sados  con  mucha  perdida  de  la  hazienda  de  V.  Md.  y  de  los  vecinos  destas  Islas, 
y  tambien  serA  remedio  para  que  los  Japones  que  suelen  benir  A  rrouar  A  estas 
costas  y  A  los  Chinos  y  de  otras  naciones  que  aqui  bienen  A  contratar  no  lo  hagan 
que  aunque  hubo  el  castigo,  quel  dicho  Dayfo  escriue,  no  por  esso  han  dejado  de 
acudir  algunos  acA  este  ano,  para  los  quales  al  punto  que  tuue  nueua  hize  armar 
dos  nauios  que  salieron  dentro  de  tres  dias  en  su  busca,  bien  armados  y  preuenidos 
de  lo  necessario  y  no  dieron  con  ellos  porque  se  hauian  ydo  ya  A  su  tierra ;  sirbi6 
esta  preuencidn  y  diligencia  para  lo  de  adelante  y  de  animar  los  naturales  como 
dizen  que  lo  estAn  para  defenderse  en  semej  antes  ocassiones  por  la  certeza  que 
tienen  de  que  han  ed  ser  socorridos  A  tiempo.  Al  dicho  emperador  he  dado  quenta 
dello  y  pedidole  que  lo  remedie  ;  tienese  por  cierto  lo  harA,  porque  desea  la  contrata- 
cion  de  aqui,  ques  lo  que  no  podemos  escusar  por  prouernos  de  aquel  reyno  de 
harina  y  otros  bastimentos  y  assi  le  escreui  que  embiase  cada  ano  seys  nauios  A 
este  efecto,  que  se  les  haria  toda  buena  acogida  si  truxesen  licencia  suya,  porque  no 
trayendola  no  serian  conozidos  si  veniAn  A  rrobar  6  contratar  como  el  lo  aduierte 
en  su  carta  y  se  entenderA  por  la  copia  de  la  que  yo  le  escreui  que  tambien  va  aqui. 
Asi  mismo  le  embie  A  pedir  con  muchas  veras  ciertos  olandeses  y  ingleses  que  A 
aquella  costa  fueron  con  un  nabio  grande,  diziendole  ques  gente  inquieta  y  de  mal 
viuir  y  que  an  negado  la  obediencia  A  V.  Md.  y  por  tenerle  grato  para  esto  y  otras 
cossas  se  le  ha  embiado  un  regalo  de  algunas  cosillas  de  poca  importancia  que  en 
su  tierra  no  las  ay  y  se  que  las  apetece.  Importaria  mucho  que  diese  esta  gente, 
porque  han  de  inquietar  en  lo  ques  la  fee  ;  y  de  los  pocos  que  son  se  ha  balido  en 
una  guerra  que  tubo  este  ano  passado  con  un  Rey  que  no  le  queria  obedezer  y  lleuo 
alguna  artilleria  industriado  dellos  y  sucediole  bien  la  jornada  y  assi  no  s6  si  me 
los  embiara.  De  lo  que  en  todo  sucediere  dare  auiso  A  V.  Md.  en  la  primera  ocas- 
sion,  que  tambien  va  encargado  de  traer  estos  olandeses  y  ingleses  el  rreligiosso 
que  truxo  su  carta  y  los  demAs  que  allA  han  ido.” 


JAPAN  AND  MEXICO 


471 


Pacific  Ocean  to  take  refuge  in  Japanese  ports  and  ejection  of  the 
Dutch  from  Japan.  He,  however,  believed  that  the  Japanese 
would  very  soon  give  up  the  voyage  as  they  were  not  good  navi¬ 
gators  and  the  merchandise  they  could  send  would  not  bring  much 
profit. 

Although  the  ship  from  Manila  did  not  come  to  Kwanto,  but 
entered  the  port  of  Usuki  in  Bungo,  Iyeyasu  was  very  much 
pleased  with  the  Governor’s  message  and  presents,  and  the  Fran¬ 
ciscan  friars  were  shown  many  favors.  In  1603,  Governor  Acuna 
sent  another  ship  to  Japan,  but  neither  this  nor  that  of  the  fol¬ 
lowing  year  arrived  in  Kwanto;  they  entered  the  ports  of  Kyu¬ 
shu,  whence  envoys  were  sent  to  the  court  of  Iyeyasu.  In  De¬ 
cember,  1604,  Father  Diego  Bermeo  of  the  Franciscan  Order  had 
to  write  to  the  Governor,  begging  him  to  send  a  ship  next  year  to 
Kwanto,  as  otherwise  all  Franciscan  missionaries  would  be  ban¬ 
ished  from  the  country.1  But  it  was  only  since  1608  that  the 
annual  ships  from  the  Philippine  Islands  regularly  came  to  Uraga. 
Thus,  after  waiting  for  almost  ten  years,  Iyeyasu  realized  one  of 
his  wishes,  but  nothing  was  done  as  regards  the  other  request  — 
the  establishment  of  commerce  with  New  Spain.  The  death  of 
Fray  Geronimo  in  1602  had  deprived  the  cause  of  its  chief  pro¬ 
moter. 

An  event,  however,  happened  in  1609,  which  unexpectedly  led 
to  the  opening  of  the  desired  commerce,  I  mean  the  shipwreck  of 
the  San  Francisco.  The  ship  left  Cavite  for  Acapulco  in  July 
of  that  year,  ex-Governor  Don  Rodrigo  de  Vivero  on  board.  It 
met  violent  storms  on  the  way  and  was  so  damaged  that  it  was 
decided  to  put  into  Japan  for  repairs.  As  the  knowledge  of  Japan 
was  very  imperfect,  the  ship  was  stranded  on  the  30th  of  Septem¬ 
ber,  in  the  night,  on  the  coast  of  Kazusa,  about  three  miles  from 
the  village  of  Iwada,  when  it  was  thought  they  were  sailing  in  the 
open  sea  north  of  Japan.  All  believed  that  they  were  lost  on  an 
unknown  island,  when  at  daybreak  a  Japanese  passenger  on  board 
learned  from  some  farmers  in  the  field  that  they  were  in  Japan. 
They  were  taken  to  Iwada,  a  poor  fishing  village  with  about  three 
hundred  houses.  A  notice  was  sent  to  the  Daimyo  of  the  place, 
who  lived  in  the  castle  of  Odaki,  about  ten  miles  distant,  and 

1  See  Padre  Colin’s  work,  vol.  2,  p.  341. 


472 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


thence  to  the  Shogun’s  Court.  When  the  Daimyo  of  Odaki  knew 
that  the  ex-Governor  of  Luzon,  by  which  name  the  Philippine 
Islands  were  known  in  Japan,  was  among  the  shipwrecked,  he 
visited  him  and  provided  for  all  his  present  needs.  Don  Rodrigo 
was  then  invited  to  the  courts  of  Yedo  and  Sumpu.  During  the 
interview,  Iyeyasu  spoke  of  his  desire  to  trade  with  New  Spain, 
and  tried  to  gain  Don  Rodrigo  over  to  his  idea.  In  Fray  Louis 
Sotelo,  who  acted  as  interpreter  on  this  occasion,  was  found  a 
worthy  successor  of  Fray  Geronimo.  He  came  to  Japan  in  1603 
and  was  engaged  in  missionary  work  in  the  Franciscan  Church  at 
Asakusa  in  Yedo.  He  burned  with  zeal  for  the  conversion  of  the 
Japanese  and  the  glory  of  his  order.  When  the  Dutch  got  per¬ 
mission,  in  September,  1609,  to  establish  a  factory  at  Hirado,  he 
thought  that  any  further  delay  would  be  fatal  to  the  cause  of  the 
Franciscan  Mission.  He,  therefore,  did  all  he  could  to  make  the 
ex-Governor  understand  that  it  was  to  the  interest  of  Spain  and  the 
Church  to  let  Iyeyasu  have  what  he  desired.  Don  Rodrigo  was 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  Sotelo’s  views  and  decided  to  accept  the 
offer  of  Iyeyasu  and  take  passage  in  a  Japanese  ship  and  to  use  all 
his  influence  to  bring  about  regular  trade  with  New  Spain.  The 
ship  was  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  tons  and  built  a  few  years 
before  by  William  Adams,  who  came  to  Japan  in  1600  as  chief 
pilot  of  the  Liefde,  and  became  a  favorite  of  Iyeyasu.  It 
was  named  San  Buenaventura  and  left  Uraga  on  August  1, 
1610,  arriving  in  safety  at  Acapulco  in  the  end  of  October.  This 
ship  took  the  first  Japanese  merchants  to  New  Spain  and  also  an 
envoy  from  Iyeyasu  to  the  court  at  Madrid.  Father  Sotelo  was 
first  nominated  for  the  mission,  but,  as  he  became  ill,  Father  Alonzo 
Munoz  was  sent.1 

When  Don  Rodrigo  arrived  at  Mexico,  an  expedition  for  the 
discovery  of  the  Gold  and  Silver  Islands  was  just  going  to  start. 
For  some  years  back  there  were  rumors  about  some  islands  in  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  enormously  rich  in  gold  and  silver,  to  which  a 


1  See  the  relation  of  Don  Rodrigo,  given  in  the  Dai  Nippon  Shiryd  (Japanese 
Historical  Materials),  published  by  the  Imperial  University  of  Tokyo,  Part  XII, 
vol.  6,  pp.  658-667,  and  Gregorio  Lopez’s  Relation  of  Events  in  the  Philippine, 
Islands,  1609  and  1610,  in  Blair  and  Robertson's  Philippine  Islands,  vof.  17 
pp.  132-137.  Don  Rodrigo’s  description  of  the  places  he  visited  in  Japan  and  of 
the  reception  he  had  at  the  courts,  as  also  his  remarks  about  Japanese  customs 
and  manners,  are  very  interesting. 


JAPAN  AND  MEXICO 


473 


Portuguese  vessel  was  driven  by  the  wind.  Philip  III  gave  orders 
to  the  viceroy  to  send  out  vessels  of  discovery  either  from  New 
Spain  or  the  Philippine  Islands.  As  the  islands  were  said  to  be 
in  the  vicinity  of  Japan,  it  was  decided  to  send  the  expedition  first 
to  Japan,  where  they  were  to  build  a  ship,  store  provisions,  and 
thence  sail  to  the  islands.  Sebastian  Vizcaino,  commander  of 
the  expedition,  well  known  in  the  history  of  California,  was  ap¬ 
pointed  ambassador  to  Japan  in  order  to  return  thanks  to  Iyeyasu 
for  the  kindness  shown  towards  the  unfortunate  crew  of  the  San 
Francisco.  Vizcaino  left  Mexico  on  March  7,  1611,  embarked 
at  Acapulco  in  a  ship,  also  called  San  Francisco,1  and  set  sail 
on  the  22d  of  the  same  month.  The  ship  arrived  at  Uraga  on  July 
10,  1611.  The  Japanese  who  went  to  Mexico  in  1610,  twenty- 
three  in  all,  returned  in  the  same  ship  with  cloths,  velvets,  wines, 
etc. ;  the  money  advanced  by  Iyeyasu  to  Don  Rodrigo  and  the 
value  of  the  Japanese  ship  were  also  invested  in  Mexican  goods. 

The  ambassador  was  first  received  at  Yedo  by  Hidetada  and 
then  at  Sumpu  by  Iyeyasu,  to  whom  the  letter  of  thanks  from  the 
viceroy  was  presented  with  his  gifts,  among  which  were  the  por¬ 
traits  of  the  king  and  queen  of  Spain.  After  delivering  his  mes¬ 
sages  Vizcaino  asked  and  received  permission  from  Iyeyasu  for 
surveying  the  eastern  coast  of  Japan,  in  order  to  find  safe  anchor¬ 
ing  places  for  Spanish  ships.  He  also  got  permission  to  build  a 
ship,  but  on  inquiry  he  found  the  charges  exorbitant  and  accepted 
Hidetada’s  offer  to  build  one  at  his  own  expense  on  condition  that 
the  general  should  lend  him  ship-carpenters  and  then  take  in  the 
ship  some  Japanese  merchants  to  New  Spain.  He  then  went 
overland  to  Sendai,  where  he  saw  Masamune  Date,  the  most 
powerful  of  the  Daimyos  of  the  northern  provinces,  and  then  sur¬ 
veyed  the  coast  of  his  provinces  of  Oshu,  starting  from  Shiogama 
and  proceeding  as  far  north  as  Kombaku,  during  the  course  of 
which  he  found  many  good  ports.  He  then  returned  to  Sendai 
and  the  survey  was  continued  along  the  coast  to  Uraga,  and  thence 
to  Osaka,  and  four  copies  of  the  map  of  the  survey  were  made  at 

1  In  a  letter  to  the  king,  dated  March  18,  1611,  the  viceroy  of  Mexico  says 
that  he  purchased  the  Japanese  ship  and  was  equipping  it  for  the  voyage  of  dis¬ 
covery.  But  it  seems  that  another  ship  was  taken  for  the  voyage,  as  William 
Adams  says  in  his  letter  of  October,  1611,  that  the  ship  he  built  was  then  in  the 
South  Sea.  He  was  in  Uraga  when  the  San  Francisco  was  there  ;  if  it  had  been  the 
ship  he  built,  he  would  have  recognized  it. 


474 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


Kyoto,  one  for  Iyeyasu,  another  for  Hidetada,  and  the  remain¬ 
ing  copies  for  the  king  of  Spain.  The  map  would  be  of  great 
interest,  but  so  far  it  has  not  been  found  either  in  Japan  or  in 
Spain.1 

The  general  then  took  leave  of  Iyeyasu  and  Hidetada,2  and,  as 
he  found  the  ship  built  by  Hidetada  unfit  for  his  purposes,  sailed 
in  the  old  ship  on  September  16,  1612.  On  the  25th  of  Septem¬ 
ber,  the  ship  arrived  at  the  place  where  the  Gold  and  Silver  Is¬ 
lands  were  located  on  the  chart,  but  no  island  could  be  found. 
The  search  was  continued  until  the  14th  of  October,  since  which 
day  violent  storms  frequently  arose  and  so  damaged  the  ship 
that  the  general  was  obliged  to  make  for  Uraga,  where  he  ar¬ 
rived  on  the  7th  of  November.  He  immediately  reported  to 
Iyeyasu  the  need  he  was  in  and  asked  for  his  help,  but  after  trying 
in  vain  for  five  months  to  get  access  to  his  presence,  the  general 
found  that  there  was  no  hope  of  getting  any  help  from  the  gov¬ 
ernment.  This  attitude  of  the  Japanese  government  seems  to 
have  been  partly  due  to  ill  feeling  caused  by  the  discovery  of  the 
true  object  of  the  mission.3  The  uncompromising  attitude  of  the 
Spanish  ambassador  in  the  negotiations  concerning  the  etiquette 
to  be  observed  on  his  reception  at  the  courts  was  another  cause  of 
displeasure.  The  survey  of  the  coast  was  also  represented  by  the 
Dutch  as  preliminary  to  an  invasion  of  Japan  by  Spanish  forces, 
but  Iyeyasu  did  not  believe  in  it,  He  had  been  prepared  for 
such  a  survey  by  Fray  Geronimo.  The  general  then  tried  to 
borrow  money  from  some  Spaniards  at  Nagasaki,  thereby  to 
build  a  ship,  but  in  this  he  also  failed.  In  his  report  he  says 
that  all  this  was  due  to  the  intrigues  of  some  Franciscan  fathers, 


1  The  Relacidn  del  viaje  hecho  para  el  descubrimiento  de  las  islas  llamadas  “  Ricas 
de  Oro  y  Plata"  situadas  en  el  Japdn,  siendo  Virey  de  la  Nueva  Espafia  Don  Luis  de 
Valasco  y  su  hijo,  Sebaslidn  Vizcaino ,  general  de  la  Espedicidn,  first  published  in 
the  eighth  volume  of  the  Colecci6n  de  documentos  in&ditos,  contains  a  minute  account 
of  Sebastian  Vizcaino’s  visit  to  Japan,  and  his  voyage  of  discovery.  See  the  Dai 
Nippon  Shiryd,  Part  XII,  vol.  8,  pp.  734-819,  vol.  12,  pp.  14-21. 

2  Their  letters  to  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico  are  given  in  the  Ikoku  Nikki  Shd, 
pp.  50-64. 

3  It  is  true,  Sebastian  Vizcaino  told  Iyeyasu  about  the  voyage  of  discovery  and 
proposed  to  take  some  Japanese  with  him ;  but  this  was  only  after  he  had  found 
out  that  the  ex-Shogun  had  heard  all  about  it  from  the  Dutch.  Although  Iyeyasu 
is  reported  to  have  said  that  he  had  no  objection  to  the  Spaniards’  undertaking  the 
discovery,  as  he  would  claim  the  Islands  if  they  were  within  the  Japanese  territory, 
and  if  not,  he  had  no  reason  to  complain,  yet  it  is  quite  natural  that  he  should  resent 
the  attempt  to  deceive  him. 


JAPAN  AND  MEXICO 


475 


especially  Father  Sotelo.  From  the  news  he  received  from  Mexico, 
Sotelo  understood  that  there  were  many  difficulties  to  the  success 
of  Father  Munoz’s  mission,  and  wished  by  going  himself  to  per¬ 
suade  the  viceroy  and  the  Spanish  government  to  agree  to  the 
opening  of  Mexican  ports  to  Japan.  As  the  general  did  not 
allow  him  to  go  in  his  ship,  Father  Sotelo  started  for  Mexico  in 
the  ship  of  Hidetada,  but  the  ship  sank  just  outside  the  port  of 
Uraga.  He  was  very  intimate  with  Masamune,  lord  of  Oshfi, 
and  knew  that  the  latter  wished  to  trade  with  New  Spain.  He, 
therefore,  advised  the  Daimyo  to  build  a  ship  for  taking  Sebastian 
Vizcaino  and  his  crew  to  Mexico  and  to  send  by  the  ship  an  embassy 
to  Europe  in  order  to  make  a  commercial  treaty  with  the  king  of 
Spain,  and  to  ask  the  Pope  to  send  Franciscan  friars  from  Mexico. 

Masamune  first  came  to  entertain  the  idea  of  opening  his  ports 
to  foreign  commerce  when  he  was  informed  of  the  discovery  of 
many  good  ports  in  his  own  provinces.  He  intimated  his  wishes 
to  the  general,  but  the  latter  knew  that  the  viceroy  was  not  fa¬ 
vorable  to  opening  ports  to  Japan  and  did  not  give  any  definite 
answer.  Now  that  no  other  means  could  be  found  for  returning 
to  Mexico,  Vizcaino  was  glad  to  accept  Masamune’s  proposal  and 
engaged  to  build  a  ship  for  him  and  bring  it  to  Mexico. 

The  ship  sailed  from  the  port  of  Tsukinoura1  on  the  27th  of 
October,  1613,  with  Masamune’s  ambassadors,  Rokuyemon 
Hasekura  and  Father  Sotelo,  and  suite,  with  a  large  number  of 
Japanese  merchants  and  sailors  on  board.  A  large  quantity  of 
goods  was  freighted  by  merchants  of  Sendai  and  Yedo.  The  ship 
arrived  at  Acapulco  on  January  25th,  1614,  and  the  embassy  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  Mexico. 

We  must  now  return  to  Father  Munoz,  whom  we  left  at  Mexico, 
on  his  arrival  there  in  November,  1610.  He  crossed  over  to 
Spain  in  the  fleet  of  1611,  and  arriving  at  Madrid  in  December, 

1  This  port  is  mentioned  in  Vizcaino’s  report.  It  was  found  to  be  well  sheltered 
and  the  name  of  San  Felipe  was  given  to  it.  The  village  contains  at  present  only  a 
few  fishermen’s  houses.  There  is  a  spot  called  “Namban-goya”  (the  hut  of  “  Southern 
Barbarians,”  which  was  the  name  for  the  Portuguese  and  the  Spaniards  at  that 
time).  This  is  supposed  to  be  the  site  of  the  yards  where  Masamune’s  ship  was  built. 

In  a  map  of  Acapulco  in  Nicolds  Cardona’s  Descripciones  geographicas  e  hydro- 
graphieas  de  muchas  tierras  y  mares  del  Norte  y  Sur ,  en  las  Indias,  en  especial  del  de- 
scubrimiento  del  Rcyno  de  la  California ,  1632,  of  which  there  is  a  photographic  copy 
in  the  Bancroft  Library  at  the  University  of  California,  a  picture  of  a  small  ship 
with  two  masts  is  given.  As  it  is  described  as  a  ship  from  Japan  (Una  nao  que  avia 
venido  del  Jap6n),  it  must  be  the  ship  of  Masamune. 


476 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


presented  to  the  king  the  letters  1  from  Iyeyasu  and  Hidetada 
with  their  presents.  The  Council  of  the  Indies  was  ordered  to 
consider  what  answer  was  to  be  sent  to  Japan. 

While  Don  Rodrigo  was  still  in  Japan,  a  ship  from  Macao  was 
destroyed  at  Nagasaki.  The  commander  of  the  ship  was  the 
commandant  of  Macao,  when  the  crew  of  a  Japanese  vessel  from 
Arima  were  killed  for  rising  against  the  authorities.  On  his 
arrival  at  Nagasaki,  the  general  was  summoned  to  appear  before 
the  Governor  of  Nagasaki  and  explain  the  reason  for  the  measures 
he  had  taken.  As  he  did  not  obey  the  summons  and  tried  to 
get  away,  the  ship  was  attacked  by  numerous  Japanese  boats. 
During  the  fight,  the  powder  magazine  took  fire  and  the  ship  was 
sunk  with  all  the  crew  on  the  6th  of  January,  1610.  This  caused 
great  consternation  in  Macao.  The  prosperity  of  the  city  was 
almost  entirely  due  to  the  commerce  with  Japan,  and  its  cessation 
meant  desolation  to  the  whole  community.  The  municipal  au¬ 
thorities  therefore  resolved  to  take  measures  for  preventing  so 
great  a  disaster,  and  in  doing  so  were  heartily  supported  by  the 
Jesuits. 

The  Jesuits  came  to  Japan  soon  after  the  Portuguese  trade  was 
opened  and  in  1584  were  given  the  sole  privilege  of  preaching 
in  the  country.  They  were  angry  with  the  Franciscans  for  coming 
to  the  country  in  disregard  of  the  bull  of  Pope  Gregory  XIII, 
and  for  managing  to  get  in  1600  a  new  bull  from  Clement  VIII, 
which  permitted  all  orders  to  enter  Japan,  although  on  condition 
that  they  did  so  via  Macao.  They  repeatedly  appealed  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Manila  and  to  the  king  of  Spain  against  the  un¬ 
lawful  entrance  of  the  Franciscans  and  other  mendicant  orders, 
but  these  continued  to  increase  in  number  and  in  influence.  In 
the  destruction  of  the  Portuguese  ship  they  saw,  or  pretended  to 
see,  the  hand  of  their  enemies.  They  affirmed  that  the  Japanese 
government  took  such  a  daring  step  because  it  was  assured  by  the 
Franciscans  that  the  Philippine  commerce  would  make  up  for  the 
loss  of  the  Portuguese  trade,  and  joined  with  the  municipal  au¬ 
thorities  in  requesting  the  authorities  of  Manila  not  to  send  any 
more  ships  and  missionaries  in  order  that  Japan  should  make 

1  The  original  letters  are  kept  in  the  Archivo  de  Indias.  See  the  Dai  Nippon 
Shiryd,  Part  XII,  vol.  7,  pp.  215,  216. 


JAPAN  AND  MEXICO 


477 


amendment  for  the  damages  done  to  the  Portuguese  and  again 
welcome  the  ships  from  Macao.  The  Bishop  of  China  undertook 
the  negotiations  in  person  and  got  the  municipal  Council  of  Manila 
to  decide  in  favor  of  the  request.  Petitions  were  then  sent  to 
the  king  asking  him  to  suppress  the  trade  of  the  Philippine  Is¬ 
lands  with  Japan  and  not  to  permit  Japan  to  open  commerce  with 
New  Spain.  The  papers  1  were  sent  to  the  Council  of  Portugal 
and  the  reports  were  in  favor  of  the  petition,  but  the  Council  of 
the  Indies  reported  to  the  king  in  May,  1612,  that  it  was  advisable 
to  open  commerce  with  Japan  via  Mexico.2  The  interests  of  the 
Spanish  colonies  were  always  placed  above  those  of  Portugal  and 
her  colonies. 

In  the  end  of  that  year,  however,  a  letter  3  came  from  the  Au- 
diencia  of  Manila  asking  the  king  not  to  listen  to  the  representa¬ 
tions  of  Don  Rodrigo  and  Father  Munoz,  as  Japanese  commerce 
with  New  Spain  would  be  injurious  to  the  interests  of  Spain. 
It  was  alleged  that  there  was  no  fear  of  any  invasion  of  the  Islands 
by  the  Japanese  so  long  as  they  were  not  taught  navigation  ;  but 
if  Japanese  vessels  were  allowed  to  come  to  New  Spain,  the  Japan¬ 
ese  would  very  soon  become  a  menace  to  the  Spanish  dominions 
in  America,  just  as  they  were  to  the  Philippine  Islands.  The 
true  reason,  however,  for  the  opposition  of  the  Philippine  govern¬ 
ment  was  their  desire  to  keep  up  their  own  trade  with  Japan, 
which,  it  was  feared,  would  suffer  greatly  from  competition  with 
New  Spain.  As  the  Japanese  commerce  grew  in  importance  the 
Islands  came  to  depend  upon  it  for  the  supply  of  silver,  provisions, 
ammunition  and  materials  for  shipbuilding,  in  exchange  for  which 
they  exported  goods  from  China  and  Spain  at  good  profit.4 

On  receiving  this  letter  the  Council  of  the  Indies  decided  to 
reconsider  its  report  and  to  wait  for  further  news  from  the  Phil¬ 
ippines  ;  but  as  Father  Munoz  continually  importuned  them  for 

‘The  “Consultas  del  Consejo  de  Portugal”  of  January  4th  and  29th,  1612, 
with  accompanying  papers  from  Macao.  Archivo  de  Indias,  67-6-4. 

2  See  the  “Consulta  del  Consejo  de  Indias”  of  May  18,  1612.  Archivo  de 
Indias,  67-6-4.  This  and  most  of  the  documents  referred  to  in  the  following  pages 
are  given  in  the  Dai  Nippon  Shiryd,  Part  XII,  vol.  12. 

3  This  letter  is  dated  July  16,  1611.  Archivo  de  Indias,  68-4-12. 

4  The  importance  of  Japanese  commerce  to  the  Islands  was  so  generally  felt 
that  some  years  later  Fray  Diego  Aduarte  went  so  far  as  to  ask  the  Spanish  govern¬ 
ment  to  prohibit  the  Portuguese  of  Macao  from  trading  with  Japan.  He  thought  it 
was  demonstrated  by  experience  that  if  all  the  trade  to  Japan  were  theirs,  the 


478 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


an  answer,  it  was  decided,  in  June,  1613,1  to  send  a  letter  to  Iye- 
yasu  promising  him  to  send  one  vessel  yearly  from  New  Spain 
if  the  latter  protected  the  Spaniards  and  allowed  the  missionaries 
to  work  for  the  conversion  of  his  subjects.  Father  Munoz  was 
intrusted  with  the  letter  2  and  some  presents  in  return  for  those 
sent  from  Japan,  but  on  account  of  illness  Fray  Diego  de  Santa 
Catalina  was  substituted,  who  went  to  Mexico  with  two  other 
Franciscan  friars.  While  they  were  still  in  Mexico,  the  embassy 
from  Masamune  arrived  at  the  city. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  the  attempt  of  the  Jesuits  to  break  the 
intercourse  of  Japan  with  the  Philippine  Islands  failed,  but  they 
consoled  themselves  with  the  success  of  an  embassy  sent  by  the 
viceroy  of  Goa  in  1611  to  reestablish  the  commerce  of  Macao  with 
Japan,  thereby  assuring  the  maintenance  of  their  own  order. 
They,  however,  got  alarmed  when  they  learned  that  Father  Sotelo 
was  going  with  an  embassy  from  Masamune  to  Europe.  They  owed 
their  own  predominant  influence  in  Japan  largely  to  the  success 
of  an  embassy  from  the  Christian  Daimyos  of  Kyushu  which  visited 
Europe  under  their  guidance  in  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
If  the  Franciscans  succeeded  in  their  embassy,  they  were  sure  to  get 
ascendancy  in  Japan.  So  the  Jesuits  set  themselves  to  hindering 
and  discrediting  the  embassy.  They  could  not  prevent  its  leaving 
Japan,  but  their  efforts,  together  with  that  of  Sebastian  Vizcaino, 
who  bore  ill  will  towards  Father  Sotelo,  succeeded  so  far  as  to 
induce  the  viceroy  of  New  Spain  to  doubt  the  sincerity  of  Masa¬ 
mune  and  distrust  Father  Sotelo.  The  viceroy  reported  to  the  king 
the  opinions  he  had  formed  about  the  embassy  and  decided  in  the 
first  place  to  detain  Fray  Diego  for  another  year,  and  to  ask  the 
king  for  new  instructions  about  the  envoys,  as  Iyeyasu  was  per¬ 
secuting  Christians  contrary  to  his  promise.  The  viceroy,  how¬ 
ever,  dissimulated  his  feelings  towards  the  ambassadors  and  treated 
them  well  and  gave  them  passage  to  Spain  on  the  fleet  of  1614. 

Islands  could  be  very  easily  maintained  without  any  further  help  from  Mexico 
and  Spain.  He  urged  that  the  inhabitants  of  Macao  could  be  removed  to  India 
(Blair  and  Robertson’s  Philippine  Islands,  vol.  18,  pp.  194-203).  The  Islands 
actually  suffered  very  much  when  Japan  was  closed  to  the  Spaniards  in  1624,  and 
the  governors  were  repeatedly  instructed  to  look  for  an  opportunity  to  reestablish 
commercial  relations  with  Japan. 

1  See  the  “Consultas  del  Consejo  de  Indias”  of  May  10th  and  June  14th,  1613. 
Archivo  de  Indias,  67-6-4. 

2  A  draft  of  the  letter,  dated  June  20,  1613,  is  preserved  in  the  Archivo  de 
Indias,  87-5-2. 


JAPAN  AND  MEXICO 


479 


The  embassy  arrived  at  San  Lucar  de  Barrameda  in  the  beginning 
of  October,  1614,  and  went  via  Seville  to  Madrid.  There  Fathers 
Sotelo  and  Munoz  succeeded  in  persuading  the  government  to 
send  Fray  Diego  to  Japan  in  the  ship  of  Masamune,  which  had 
been  detained  at  Acapulco  by  the  viceroy,  pending  the  orders  of 
the  king  whether  to  send  them  direct  to  Japan  or  by  way  of  the 
Philippine  Islands.  The  letter  to  Iyeyasu  was,  however,  revised, 
the  clause  about  sending  a  ship  from  New  Spain  every  year  being 
omitted.1  The  Franciscan  friars  left  Acapulco  in  April,  1615,  and 
arrived  at  Uraga  on  the  15th  of  August.  Iyeyasu  was  then  en¬ 
gaged  in  the  final  siege  of  Osaka,  which  ended  in  the  complete 
defeat  and  death  of  Hideyori.  The  envoys  had,  therefore,  to  wait 
for  more  than  two  tnonths  before  they  were  received  by  Iyeyasu. 
They  then  went  to  Yedo  to  see  Ididetada,  but  could  not  get  access 
to  the  court,  and  were  finally  ordered  to  leave  Japan  with  the 
presents  from  the  king  of  Spain.  This  was  in  accordance  with 
the  new  policy  adopted  by  Ididetada  towards  foreign  commerce 
and  Christianity.  All  missionaries  were  to  be  sent  away  and  the 
preaching  of  Christianity  was  to  be  strictly  forbidden.  The 
foreign  merchants  who  had  been  hitherto  allowed  to  trade  in  the 
interior  were  ordered  to  do  their  business  only  in  a  few  open 
ports  —  Uraga,  Nagasaki,  and  Hirado.  The  death  of  Iyeyasu  in 
July,  1616,  marks  the  end  of  Japan’s  open  commerce  with  foreign 
countries.  The  Spanish  envoys  were,  in  disregard  of  the  orders 
of  the  viceroy  which  forbade  the  Japanese  to  come  again  to  New 
Spain  and  ordered  the  Spanish  who  came  in  the  Japanese  ship  to 
return  by  way  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  forced  to  take  passage 
in  the  ship  of  Masamune,  which  went  out  in  September,  1616, 
on  her  second  voyage  for  New  Spain,  where  she  was  to  meet  the 
embassy  from  Masamune  on  its  way  from  Europe. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  Jesuits  did  all  in  their  power 
to  discredit  the  embassy,  but  it  was  of  no  avail  and  the  ambas¬ 
sadors  were  enthusiastically  welcomed  all  over  Spain.  They  were 
received  in  audience  by  King  Philip  III  and  were  sent  at  his  ex¬ 
pense  to  Rome,  where  Pope  Paul  V  received  them  with  fatherly 
tenderness  and  granted  them  almost  everything  they  asked  for. 

1  Arehivo  de  Indiaa,  87-5-2.  Draft  of  a  letter  addressed  to  Hidetada  is  in 
the  same  volume. 


480 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


He  promised  to  use  his  influence  with  Philip  III  to  create  a  new 
bishopric  of  Northern  Japan  in  Oshu,  the  province  of  Masamune, 
nominating  Father  Sotelo  to  the  office,  and  to  establish  com¬ 
mercial  relations  between  Japan  and  New  Spain.  The  Senate 
of  Rome  made  Hasekura  a  patrician  and  presented  the  chief 
members  of  the  embassy  with  the  citizenship  of  Rome.  The 
embassy  was  entertained  on  their  way  back  to  Spain  by  the 
Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany  and  the  Doge  of  Genoa. 

But  when  the  ambassadors  returned  to  Spain,  they  found  a 
decided  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  government.  It  was  chiefly 
due  to  the  persecution  of  Christians  in  Japan,  and  although  they 
refused  to  return  before  the  object  of  the  embassy  was  attained, 
they  were  obliged  to  leave  for  Mexico  in  July,  1617. 

On  arriving  at  Mexico,  they  learned  that  their  ship  was  wait¬ 
ing  at  Acapulco,  but  this  time  they  were  told  to  return  by  way  of 
the  Philippine  Islands,  for  which  they  set  sail  in  April,  1618,  in 
company  with  the  fleet  of  Don  Alonso  Fajardo,  the  new  governor 
of  the  Islands.  Soon  after  their  arrival  at  Manila,  the  Islands  were 
threatened  with  an  attack  by  the  Dutch.  The  governor  therefore 
asked  the  Japanese  ambassador  to  sell  his  ship  and  equipped  her 
for  the  coming  fight.  Hasekura  and  his  suite  took  passage  in  a 
junk  and  arrived  at  Sendai  in  August,  1620,  after  a  long  absence 
of  seven  years.1 

The  repeated  attempts  of  Japan  to  bring  the  countries  on  the 
opposite  sides  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  into  close  commercial  relations 
thus  ended  in  failure.  During  the  years  of  her  seclusion  even  the 
fact  that  such  attempts  were  ever  made  came  to  be  forgotten,  and 
the  idea  was  first  realized  after  a  lapse  of  almost  two  centuries  and 
a  half,  when  the  United  States  induced  Japan  to  open  the  coun¬ 
try,  almost  against  her  will. 

1  The  embassy  of  Masamune  to  Europe  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  episodes 
of  Japanese  history,  but  nothing  about  it  was  known  in  Japan  before  the  attention 
of  Ambassador  Iwakura  and  his  suite  was  drawn  to  it  in  1873  when  they  visited 
Venice.  Later  investigations  by  Italian  and  Japanese  scholars  have  brought  to 
light  an  immense  amount  of  material  preserved  in  the  archives  of  Italy,  Spain,  and 
Japan.  All  the  materials  hitherto  discovered  are  given  in  the  Dai  Nippon  Shiryd, 
Part  XII,  Vol.  12,  which  volume  is  devoted  entirely  to  that  embassy. 


SOCIAL  REACTIONS  OF  BUDDHISM  IN  MEDIEVAL 

JAPAN 


K.  Asakawa 

Buddhism,  when  it  found  its  way  from  the  Asiatic  continent 
into  Japan  for  the  first  time  in  the  sixth  century,  had  already 
undergone  an  evolution  of  one  thousand  years  since  the  time  of 
its  founder,  and  thenceforth  continued  to  come  to  Japan,  with 
further  changes,  for  about  seven  hundred  years.  All  or  nearly 
all  of  the  Buddhism  received  here,  therefore,  was  not  Buddha’s 
teaching  in  its  original  form,  but  its  later  development  that  called 
itself  the  Mahayana,  or  the  Great  Vehicle.  The  Mahayana 
Buddhism,  coming,  as  it  did,  through  India,  Gandhara,  Turkestan, 
China,  and  Korea,  in  the  course  of  its  long  career,  had  incorporated 
into  itself  beliefs  and  ideas  extremely  diverse  in  origin  and  quality. 
They,  in  fact,  comprised  the  whole  extent  of  the  religious  expe¬ 
rience  of  man,  from  cults  and  rites  derived  largely  from  primitive 
beliefs  of  different  races,  at  one  end  of  the  development,  to  a 
salvation  through  faith  in  a  single  Buddha,  at  another  end,  and 
also  to  a  union  of  the  individual  with  a  cosmic  life  attainable 
through  independent  spiritual  effort.  Out  of  this  rich  storehouse, 
the  Japanese  society,  during  the  more  than  thirteen  centuries  after 
the  sixth,  has  made,  in  accordance  with  the  changing  needs  of  the 
succeeding  ages,  a  remarkable  series  of  progressive  selections  and 
adaptations  of  Buddhist  ideas. 

It  is  my  belief  that,  in  the  study  of  the  religious  history  of  any 
people,  its  doctrinal,  institutional,  and  cultural  phases  should  be 
supplemented  by  an  inquiry  into  another  aspect  of  vital  impor¬ 
tance,  namely,  the  progressive  mutual  reaction  that  may  be  dis¬ 
covered  between  these  conventional  factors  and  the  complex 
and  ever-changing  social  life  of  the  nation.  It  is  the  social  con¬ 
ditions  in  a  broad  sense,  rather  than  any  other  single  element, 
2 1  481 


482 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


that  adapt  the  doctrine,  fashion  the  institutions,  and  determine 
the  general  forms  of  the  artistic  expressions,  of  a  national  re¬ 
ligion,  which  may  persist  till  further  changes  are  wrought  under 
altered  conditions.  And  the  value  of  this  social  point  of  view  is 
demonstrated  in  a  striking  fashion  in  the  history  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  various  phases  of  the  Mahayana  Buddhism  and  the 
shifting  religious  needs  of  society  have  successively  reacted  upon 
each  other  in  Japan.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this  brief  paper  to  select 
out  of  this  long  evolution  in  adaptation  the  period  that  lies  be¬ 
tween  the  advent  of  the  religion  and  the  introduction  of  the  last 
phases  of  its  newer  forms,  covering  the  seven  centuries  from  the 
sixth  to  the  thirteenth,  and  to  attempt  a  few  broad  suggestions 
culled  from  independent  research  concerning  some  of  the  larger 
social  reactions  of  Buddhism  in  this  period. 

I 

Let  us  first  observe  the  state  of  society  in  the  middle  of  the 
sixth  century,  for  it  was  the  society  that  confronted  Buddhism 
when  it  was  transmitted  from  Korea.  Economically,  the  Japan 
of  that  early  age  may  be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  agricultural 
stage  of  a  southern  type :  pastoral  life  was  unknown,  and  the 
chief  industry  was  the  rice  culture,  which  required  an  intensive 
method  of  cultivation,  and  consequently  involved  the  private 
possession  of  rice-land,  whether  by  the  individual  or  by  the  family. 
Iron  had  long  been  in  use,  a  fact  which  indicated  a  considerable 
diversity  of  crafts  and  small  industries  and  the  existence  of  gilds 
besides  family  organizations.  The  family  seemed  still  to  retain 
traces  of  a  previous  condition  in  matriarchy,  especially  in  the 
relation  between  the  sexes  and  in  succession ;  the  family  had, 
however,  in  fact  not  only  advanced  to  the  patriarchal  stage,  but 
had  already  had  recourse  to  artificial  means  in  order  to  perpetuate 
the  semblance  of  the  tribal  organization  which  the  controlling 
section  of  the  society  was  outgrowing.  The  head  of  the  nation 
was  the  emperor,  who  was  upheld  as  the  direct  descendant  of  the 
ancestral  deities  of  the  ruling  tribe,  and  who  in  that  capacity  so¬ 
licited  their  divine  protection  in  behalf  of  the  good  harvest  of  the 
land  and  tranquillity  among  the  people. 


SOCIAL  REACTIONS  OF  BUDDHISM  IN  JAPAN  483 


In  such  a  community,  it  was  to  be  expected  that  the  individual 
should  be,  as  he  was,  so  bound  by  rigid  custom  and  by  his  status 
in  the  family  and  society,  as  to  be  still  ignorant  of  the  comparative 
freedom  of  personal  conduct  of  a  later  age  and  of  the  moral  re¬ 
sponsibility  which  that  freedom  would  entail  upon  him.  His 
point  of  view  was,  therefore,  still  non-moral,  in  the  sense  that 
his  conduct  and  career  were  not  to  any  appreciable  extent  within 
his  moral  control  and  responsibility.  Being  non-moral,  he  was 
liable,  when  social  restraint  was  for  any  reason  relaxed  and  wrhen 
his  own  interest  came  into  conflict  with  that  of  another,  to  descend 
to  what  may  from  a  later  standpoint  be  deemed  as  a  ruthless 
opportunism  —  a  characteristic  feature  in  all  ages  in  which  the 
selfish  interest  of  man  is  still  uncontrolled  save  by  custom. 

Accordingly,  the  religion  of  the  Japanese  before  the  introduction 
of  Buddhism  consisted  of  miscellaneous  beliefs  and  rites  regarding 
ghosts  and  spirits  of  a  non-moral  type.  The  main  characteristics 
of  religions  of  this  stage  are  so  common  and  so  well  known  in  dif¬ 
ferent  parts  of  the  world  that  they  need  not  be  enumerated.  In 
the  Japan  of  the  sixth  century,  the  greatest  peculiarity  about  her 
innumerable  deities  was  that  chief  among  them  were  the  ancestral 
spirits  of  the  ruling  house  and  tribe,  and  were,  in  consequence, 
of  large  political  importance ;  the  imperial  house  sought  to  insure 
its  security,  as  wrell  by  inculcating  beliefs  in  these  deities  among 
the  people  and  invoking  their  divine  aid  for  the  peace  and  the 
agricultural  welfare  of  the  realm,  as  by  more  purely  political 
means.  It  was  natural  that,  being  born  of  a  society  so  clearly 
before  the  awakening  of  this  individual  moral  sense  of  its  mem¬ 
bers,  most  of  their  deities  should,  as  they  did,  possess  but  vague 
personal  characters,  prayers  addressed  to  them  should  lack  in¬ 
tensity  of  feeling,  the  ideas  of  sin  be  material  and  largely  acci¬ 
dental,  and  the  religious  acts  be  almost  w’holly  ritual  or  magical 
in  nature. 

With  this  native  cult,  the  essential  character  of  Buddhism, 
which  was  formally  introduced  from  a  Korean  Court  into  the 
Japanese  in  552,  stood  in  the  sharpest  possible  contrast.  Bud¬ 
dhism,  as  such,  was  to  the  last  degree  moral ;  that  is,  its  scheme 
of  salvation  was  built  upon  the  conduct  of  the  individual  as  the 
sole  responsible  maker  of  his  own  destiny.  Again,  Buddhism,  as 


484 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


such,  denied  the  existence  of  either  soul,  ghost,  or  deity.  It  is 
true  that  the  Mahavana  Buddhism  that  came  to  Japan  had, 
during  its  long  progression  through  Asia,  embraced  a  large  number 
of  deities,  but  it  treated  them  as  convenient  popular  manifesta¬ 
tions  of  the  universal  Law ;  and  the  Law,  in  its  philosophical  as¬ 
pects,  was  the  essence  of  the  purest  pantheism  that  Indian  thought 
had  evolved.  What  manner  of  reaction  upon  such  a  high  religion 
must  one  expect  from  the  non-moral  beliefs  in  deities  of  the  ancient 
Japanese  with  which  it  now  came  in  contact?  Was  there  a  like¬ 
lihood  of  their  comprehending  the  new  doctrine  so  immeasurably 
beyond  their  stage  of  culture?  Would  they  not  rather  be  liable 
to  regard  Buddhist  deities  as  so  many  real  agents  for  good  or  ill 
fortune  superadded  to  their  own  deities  and  more  potent  than  the 
latter,  instead  of  mere  instruments  of  truth  as  the  new  deities  were 
taught  to  be?  Would  not  the  people  at  once  proceed  to  invoke 
their  aid,  as  they  had  been  wont  to  invoke  that  of  their  ancestral 
gods,  for  the  sake  of  the  non-spiritual,  material  blessings  that  they 
sought  ? 

II 

Such  was  precisely  the  manner  in  which  Buddhism  was  treated 
by  the  Japanese  during  the  first  half  of  our  period,  and  the  history 
of  this  unspiritual  manner  is  in  itself  a  notable  evolution.  Con¬ 
fining  our  attention  for  the  present  to  the  period  ending  with  the 
close  of  the  eighth  century,  we  are  compelled  to  admit  that 
Buddhas,  Bodhisattvas,  devas,  and  other  Buddhist  deities  were 
conceived  by  the  Japanese  as  so  many  real,  not  apparent,  gods; 
that  their  beneficent  intervention  was  asked  chiefly  for  welfare  on 
earth ;  that  all  the  religious  acts  of  the  new  order,  such  as  the 
copying  and  reciting  of  sutras,  the  making  of  images,  the  building 
of  temples,  and  the  taking  of  the  tonsure,  were  generally  regarded 
as  meritorious  offerings  or  investments  looking  for  tangible  re¬ 
turns  in  the  world.  Neither  the  motives  for  the  retirement,  nor 
the  main  reasons  for  the  personal  influence,  of  the  greater  priests 
of  the  age,  can  be  said  to  have  been  spiritual  in  character.  The 
old  religious  attitude  of  the  people  was  not  only  not  altered  radi¬ 
cally,  but  was,  on  the  contrary,  reinforced  and  intensified  by  the 
reception  of  so  many  novel  and  powerful  deities ;  not  only  were 


SOCIAL  REACTIONS  OF  BUDDHISM  IN  JAPAN  485 


the  deities  multiplied,  but  the  former  religious  habits  of  the  Jap¬ 
anese  mind  were  stimulated  into  new  vigor,  the  old  beliefs  and 
rites  deepened,  and  ancient  gods  raised  to  the  level  of  the  new. 
Hence  it  was  that  the  people  could  observe  no  essential  difference 
between  the  old  gods  thus  revivified  and  the  numerous  alien 
spirits  they  had  now  adopted,  and  that  usually  the  same  person 
served  both  with  equal  devotion.  The  deities,  in  fact,  were  sel¬ 
dom  conceived  to  be  exclusive  of  each  other ;  although  it  was  not 
yet  commonly  taught  that  Buddhist  deities  were  reincarnated  in 
the  karrvi,  the  former  were  eagerly  accepted  as  welcome  additions 
to  the  latter  that  brought  a  double  measure  of  security  for  the 
welfare  of  the  emperor  and  of  the  people. 

Moreover,  with  its  inspiring  religious  art,  Buddhism  served  as 
great  medium  of  the  culture  of  East  Asia  which  the  Japanese 
Court  at  that  time  was  adopting  with  fervor.  The  rise  in  central 
Japan  of  Buddhist  temples  of  simple  and  dignified  architectural 
beauty,  containing  magnificent  and  wholly  novel  works  of  sculpture 
and  decorative  art,  carried  with  it  an  irresistible  appeal  to  the 
senses  of  the  people,  and  charmed  them  to  the  conviction  of  the 
excellence  of  the  new  faith. 

Under  so  markedly  hedonistic  and  sensual  a  conception  of 
Buddhism,  what  was  more  natural  than  that  its  followers  in 
Japan  remained  insensible  to  nearly  all  the  higher  aspects  of  its 
great  message?  Not  only  was  the  universal  Law  in  its  true  im¬ 
port  hidden  from  their  view,  but  also  was  the  peculiar  altruism  of 
the  Bodhisattva  vehicle  repeated  only  mechanically  and  at  rare 
intervals.  Even  an  idea  so  fundamental  to  all  forms  of  Buddh¬ 
ism  as  that  of  karma  gained  as  yet  little  hold  on  the  mind,  and 
the  authorities  were  clearly  opposed  to  its  propagation.  Had 
Buddha  or  even  Nagarjuna  risen  from  his  grave,  he  could  hardly 
have  recognized  Buddhism  in  what  passed  under  that  name  in 
the  Japan  of  the  eighth  century  but  taught  few  of  the  central 
ideas  animating  the  wonderfully  figurative  language  of  the  Ma¬ 
hay  ana  literature. 

Nothing  more  clearly  embodied  the  general  attitude  of  the  age 
toward  the  religion  than  the  policy  which  the  Japanese  government 
had  adopted  in  regard  to  the  Buddhist  church.  After  a  varied 
experience  of  a  century  and  a  half,  the  authorities  in  the  eighth 


486 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


century  had  ended  in  assigning  to  the  church  a  large  and  distinct 
place  in  the  new  state-system  which  they  had  organized.  In 
this  new  polity,  there  were,  between  the  emperor  at  the  apex  and 
the  unfree  people  at  the  base,  two  main  classes  of  citizens,  namely, 
the  noble  and  the  free,  the  former  constituting  the  governing  and 
the  latter  the  producing  and  supporting  divisions  of  the  nation. 
The  Buddhist  temples  together  with  Shinto  institutions  formed  a 
third  estate,  whose  functions  were,  not  so  much  to  spread  re¬ 
ligious  beliefs  among  the  people,  as  to  perform  services  that 
should  secure  the  welfare  of  the  emperor  and  the  State.  With 
this  end  in  view,  the  Buddhist  church  was  organized  in  a  loose 
hierarchy  and  given  a  degree  of  self-government  in  the  adminis¬ 
tration  of  its  affairs.  Not  only  was  it  thought  incompatible  with 
the  clearly  defined  duties  of  the  church  to  the  State  that  it 
should  teach  the  karmic  philosophy  or  induce  people  to  renounce 
the  vanities  of  the  world,  but  also  were  these  acts,  essentially 
Buddhistic  as  they  were,  condemned  by  law  as  subversive  of  social 
order.  For  similar  reasons,  the  priests  and  nuns  were  ordained 
and  registered  in  accordance  with  law,  and  no  private  ordination 
was  allowed.  In  order  that  the  church  should  perform  its  duties 
with  undivided  zeal,  the  temples  that  were  officially  recognized 
were  supported  with  grants  of  land  and  exempted  from  taxation, 
and,  in  consequence,  were  forbidden  to  acquire  more  land  or  to 
engage  in  other  economic  pursuits.  In  short,  the  Buddhist  church 
was,  from  the  official  standpoint  of  the  eighth  century,  an  indis¬ 
pensable  organ  in  the  performance  of  the  life  of  the  new  State, 
the  function  of  the  church  to  invoke  the  good  will  of  the  deities 
for  public  welfare  being  coordinate  with  the  function  of  the  no¬ 
bility  to  govern  the  people  and  that  of  the  free  citizens  to  supply 
the  means  of  government. 

Ill 

As  we  pass  on  to  the  Buddhism  that  prevailed  among  the 
nobility  of  Ky5to  between  the  ninth  and  the  twelfth  centuries, 
we  find  ourselves  moving  in  an  atmosphere  still  largely  non-moral, 
but  at  the  same  time  discover  here  certain  subtle  influences  at 
work  that  gradually  prepared  the  way  for  a  less  hedonistic  and  more 
spiritual  form  of  Buddhism  to  rise  toward  the  end  of  this  period. 


SOCIAL  REACTIONS  OF  BUDDHISM  IN  JAPAN  487 


Before  we  describe  these  delicate  changes,  it  is  again  necessary 
to  make  a  brief  survey  of  the  social  life  of  the  nobles  at  Kyoto ; 
for  in  Kyoto,  the  metropolis,  was  centered  the  peculiar  culture  of 
the  bureaucratic  Japan,  and  only  under  the  influence  of  this  cul¬ 
ture  could  the  Buddhism  of  this  period  become  what  it  was. 

One  of  the  notable  features  of  aristocratic  life  at  Kyoto,  and, 
in  consequence,  of  the  whole  culture  of  the  Court,  was  the  markedly 
feminine  feeling  that  characterized  thought  and  action.  Not 
only  was  the  noble  lady  influential  in  all  society,  but  the  noble 
lord  also  was  deeply  affected  by  her  tendency  to  delight  in  beauty 
that  appealed  to  the  senses,  to  dwell  rather  on  the  manner  than 
on  the  matter  regarding  questions  of  culture,  and  to  think  and 
act  in  terms  of  sentiment  and  personality.  We  cannot  tarry  here 
to  seek  an  explanation  of  this  condition,  nor  even  to  describe  any 
of  the  far-reaching  effects  that  it  exerted  upon  the  culture  of  the 
period ;  it  will  suffice  merely  to  refer  to  the  existence  of  this  state 
of  things  in  the  background  of  the  Buddhistic  life  of  this  singular 
age. 

The  life  of  the  noble  was  circumscribed  by  status  and  by  in¬ 
flexible  rules  and  conventions  of  social  behavior,  which  he  could 
defy  only  at  the  risk  of  his  career.  But  his  society  was  not  only 
narrow  and  rigid,  but  also  capricious,  for  the  conduct  of  its  affairs 
was  largely  determined  by  the  changing  moods  of  persons  whose 
self-interest  was  uncontrolled  by  inner  discipline  or  fixed  princi¬ 
ples.  However  high  his  native  ability,  therefore,  the  individual 
person  was  in  no  small  measure  the  plaything  of  external  forces, 
personal  or  otherwise,  which  were  beyond  his  moral  control  and 
responsibility.  Having  acquired  little  freedom  or  desire  to  win 
his  career  by  his  own  effort,  his  success  in  life  usually  depended  on 
the  social  prestige  of  his  family  and  on  the  patronage  of  some  in¬ 
fluential  person.  Failing  these,  the  best  that  the  individual  could 
do  was  to  adjust  his  interest  to  that  of  the  fickle  society  and  drift 
along  the  line  of  least  resistance.  If  by  good  luck  he  succeeded 
in  acquiring  power,  he  was  not  seldom  liable  to  wield  it  without 
scruple ;  for,  having,  as  he  did,  little  spiritual  control  or  moral 
strength,  what  was  there  to  curb  his  selfishness  but  his  regard  for 
the  general  disapproval  of  inelegant  manners? 

Indeed,  what  more  or  less  tended  to  rob  this  non-moral  life  of 


488 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


the  extreme  coarseness  that  would  otherwise  have  characterized 
it  was :  the  modal  culture  of  a  high  aesthetic  type  that  had  been 
evolved  in  Kyoto  in  an  atmosphere  of  peace  and  comfort;  and  a 
sense  of  ready  human  sympathy  in  a  good  manner,  a  feature  even 
more  clearly  feminine  in  character  than  the  general  culture  of 
which  it  was  a  mark.  The  sanction  of  culture  and  propriety  was, 
however,  external,  and  hardly  of  value  at  a  critical  moment ; 
nor  at  any  time  could  it  make  demands  upon  a  person  which  in 
a  more  spirited  age  would  bring  his  moral  nature  to  the  test.  As 
for  the  effect  upon  his  normal  life,  whether  in  its  daily  routine  or  in 
its  occasional  social  diversions,  it  is  evident  that  such  a  sanction 
could  rarely  serve  to  quicken  the  moral  tone  uniformly  so  dull. 

Under  the  cumulative  influence  of  generations,  therefore,  it 
would  seem  but  natural  that  the  noble  should,  as  he  did,  emerge 
from  this  period  without  an  adequate  spiritual  force  to  meet  the 
loss  of  his  wealth  and  power  with  which  he  was  threatened,  as  we 
shall  see,  by  the  strong  feudal  warrior. 

Returning  now  to  the  state  of  Buddhism  that  prevailed  among 
the  Court  nobility,  it  will  be  noted  that  the  system  of  maintain¬ 
ing  officially  recognized  temples  and  an  officially  ordained  clergy 
still  remained  in  force  and  for  the  same  public  purposes  as  in  the 
eighth  century.  What  is  even  more  important,  the  same  non- 
moral  point  of  view  respecting  Buddhism  and  the  same  tendency 
to  regard  its  deities  as  agents  of  fortune,  not  only  persisted,  but 
were  much  intensified  by  the  more  engrossing  desire  for  personal 
welfare  and  the  increased  fear  of  ghosts  which  an  enervating 
court  life  had  engendered.  It  is  a  matter  of  great  interest,  how¬ 
ever,  that  at  the  same  time,  subtler  influences  had  crept  in  that 
in  some  cases  imperceptibly  but  in  all  instances  surely  changed 
the  nature  of  the  Buddhism  that  was  favored.  To  some  of  these 
changes  we  shall  now  briefly  refer,  beginning  with  those  which 
came  earlier  and  were  more  visible  than  others. 

Side  by  side  with  the  treatment  of  the  church  as  an  official 
mediator  between  the  State  and  the  deities,  there  had  naturally 
grown  up  a  custom  among  the  nobles,  gaining  in  popularity 
throughout  this  period,  of  founding  and  endowing  private  temples 
and  monasteries  for  the  sake  of  the  personal  welfare  of  the  donors. 
And  the  very  conception  of  the  welfare  to  be  secured  had  under- 


SOCIAL  REACTIONS  OF  BUDDHISM  IN  JAPAN  489 


gone  an  important  extension ;  in  addition  to  the  old  notions  of  the 
blessings  to  be  enjoyed  on  earth,  the  new  idea  included,  as  its 
chief  factors,  the  extinction  of  the  sinful  karma  of  a  former  life 
causing  the  woes  of  the  present,  and  the  repose  or  the  salvation  of  the 
soul  after  death.  This,  of  course,  implied  motives  for  deeper 
devotion  as  well  as  for  the  increase  of  religious  institutions.  Si¬ 
multaneously,  the  enlarged  idea  of  the  blessing  under  Buddhist 
tutelage  tended  greatly  to  stimulate  the  sense  of  dependence  upon 
deities,  or,  in  other  words,  to  make  their  supposed  intervention  in 
one’s  affairs  both  during  lifetime  and  after  death  not  only  more 
general  but  also  more  intimately  pervasive.  And  this  general 
tendency  grew  parallel  with  the  influence  of  one  special  sect  of 
Buddhism,  namely,  the  Shingon ;  for,  however  profound  its  phi¬ 
losophy  in  pantheistic  mysticism,  the  Shingon  was  to  all  appear¬ 
ance  characterized  by  its  systematically  wrought  pantheon  of 
innumerable  deities  and  its  bewilderingly  elaborate  ritualism. 
Nor  did  the  clever  priestcraft  of  the  sect  desist  from  nurturing  the 
habit  among  the  laity  of  regarding  the  deities  as  so  many  real 
agents  of  miraculous  power  and  of  fancying  that  an  implicit  re¬ 
liance  on  the  efficacy  of  the  rich  paraphernalia  of  ritualism  con¬ 
stituted  the  very  substance  of  religious  devotion.  And  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  this  formalistic  Shingon  was  asserted  in  an  exhaustive 
fashion  through  its  great  temples  in  possession  of  immense  ma¬ 
terial  wealth  and  its  great  priests  wielding  tremendous  social  power, 
that  typified  and  lent  color  to  the  general  religious  life  of  the  age. 
In  fact,  the  mystic  beliefs  and  rituals  of  this  form  of  Buddhism 
were  so  successfully  exploited  and  so  closely  interwoven  into  the 
life  of  the  nobility  as  to  form  almost  its  integral  part.  On  all 
occasions  of  birth,  death,  disease,  and  other  ills  of  private  life, 
and  of  drought,  storm,  famine,  pestilence,  and  other  public  calam¬ 
ities,  as  well  as  many  happy  events,  appropriate  rites  were  per¬ 
formed  and  deities  invoked  by  the  ubiquitous  Shingon  priest. 
It  was  thus  that  the  Court  Buddhism  of  this  period  became,  in 
character,  at  once  aristocratic,  formal,  and  priestly. 

Underneath  the  luxuriant  growth  of  the  mystic  ritualism  of 
Shingon,  however,  there  rose  an  understanding  of  Buddhism,  at 
first  almost  unnoticed,  but  gradually  visible  and  finally  general, 
which  was  at  once  deeper  and  more  serious.  Now  at  length  was 


490 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


discernible  an  increasing  assimilation  of  the  Buddhist  doctrine  of 
the  transitoriness  of  life  and  of  the  karmic  view  of  the  world,  not 
as  embodied  in  forms  and  institutions,  but  as  a  habit  of  mind  of 
the  believer.  We  should  suppose  that  the  more  reflective  souls  had 
been  led  to  this  deeper  understanding  by  their  observation,  among 
other  things,  of  the  vicissitudes  of  human  fortune  that  were  so 
often  enacted  before  them  at  Court  among  aspirants  for  power; 
the  occasional  natural  calamities  in  the  country,  also,  may  have 
aided  the  reflective  mood,  for  they  were  always  liable  in  that 
agricultural  age  to  unsettle  the  whole  economic  life  of  the  nation, 
causing  misery  to  the  peasantry  and  embarrassment  to  the  nobility. 
Whatever  the  explanation,  the  tendency  once  begun  spread  with 
remarkable  persistency  among  the  aristocratic  circles  at  Kyoto. 
And  characteristically  of  the  period,  the  current  conception  of 
karma  and  of  the  unreliability  of  the  world  was,  for  the  most  part, 
negative  and  resigned.  Men  looked  more  to  the  past  as  an  an¬ 
tecedent  of  the  present  than  to  the  present  as  the  creating  cause 
of  the  future ;  they  habitually  referred  to  probable  sins  committed 
in  a  forgotten  past  life  and  their  evil  karma,  not  so  much  in  order 
to  set  about  expiating  the  past  or  to  rebel  against  the  blind  yoke 
of  the  past  for  which  the  present  could  not  be  held  responsible,  as 
in  order  to  reconcile  themselves  to  the  woes  of  the  moment  as  they 
occurred.  The  new  understanding  was,  therefore,  altogether  a 
partial  and  feeble  conception  of  the  intensely  moral  teaching  of 
Buddha,  but  must  none  the  less  be  considered  as  more  serious  in 
nature  than  any  idea  that  any  large  group  of  Japanese  had  ever 
entertained  of  Buddhism.  And  these  soberly  passive  ideas  slowly 
but  surely  entered  into  the  feeling  of  the  noble  circles  with  increas¬ 
ing  depth,  till  they  had  at  the  end  of  this  period  become  the  very 
texture  of  the  graceful  literature  of  Kyoto  so  delicately  sad  in 
tone. 

Thus  we  find  the  Japanese  Buddhism  in  the  eleventh  century 
aristocratic  in  spirit,  ritualistic  in  form,  and  in  mood  passively  re¬ 
signed.  The  ideal  religious  life  remained,  as  might  be  expected, 
monastic;  that  is,  attainable  only  by  the  renunciation  of  social 
ties  and  by  retirement.  The  laity  usually  depended  on  the  priest 
for  complete  requisite  forms  of  worship,  but  in  their  mundane 
life  could  take  refuge  in  the  thought  of  their  fleeting  lives  and  pre- 


SOCIAL  REACTIONS  OF  BUDDHISM  IN  JAPAN  491 


ordained  destinies,  and  of  the  possible  ultimate  rest  or  salvation 
of  their  souls  after  death  and  of  the  souls  of  their  deceased  kin  to 
be  secured  by  devotion  and  munificence  to  Buddhist  institutions 
during  life.  The  Buddhism  of  the  eleventh  century  may,  there¬ 
fore,  be  said  to  have  become  a  little  less  hedonistic  and  a  little 
more  spiritual  in  character  than  it  was  three  hundred  years  be¬ 
fore,  though  passive  and  still  not  a  little  non-moral.  At  least 
Buddhism  had  been  more  assimilated  to  the  culture  and  entered 
more  intimately  into  the  life  of  the  class  that  fostered  it,  than  might 
be  said  of  the  religion  in  its  own  surroundings  in  the  eighth  century. 

IV 

While  these  gentle  changes  were  slowly  taking  place  in  the 
Buddhism  of  the  leisured  classes  at  the  metropolis,  a  tremendous 
social  upheaval  was  in  progress  in  the  country  at  large  that  finally 
resulted  in  a  complete  undermining  of  the  polity  organized  in  the 
seventh  century  and  in  the  firm  establishment  of  a  new  class  of 
society,  —  a  class  which  was  largely  private  and  illegal  in  origin, 
but  had  arrogated  to  itself  one  after  another  all  the  public  func¬ 
tions  of  state.  This  new  class  was  feudal,  and  the  feudal  lords 
were  the  practical  rulers  of  the  Japanese  nation  after  the  end  of 
the  twelfth  century. 

With  these  men  of  arms  we  find  ourselves  in  a  new  world  of 
thought  and  feeling,  with  a  point  of  view  and  spiritual  needs  radi¬ 
cally  at  variance  with  those  of  the  genteel  courtiers  at  Kyoto. 
The  “man  that  handled  the  bow  and  arrow,”  as  the  warrior  styled 
himself,  was  habitually  animated  by  a  strong  sense  of  honor  which 
was  based  upon  valor  and  loyalty  and  which  was  enforced  by  a 
rigorous  social  sanction.  In  his  community,  society  did  not 
touch  the  individual  in  a  manner  which  was,  as  at  the  Court  of 
Kyoto,  dull  and  capricious,  but,  on  the  contrary,  called  directly 
upon  the  keenest  sense  of  his  personal  honor  to  be  defended  and 
asserted  at  the  point  of  the  sword.  For  the  first  time  in  Japanese 
social  history,  it  may  be  said,  the  individual  found  his  fame  and 
fate  in  a  large  measure  dependent  upon  his  character  and  action, 
or,  in  other  words,  within  his  responsibility  and  moral  control. 
Moreover,  his  calling  required  in  the  warrior  a  state  of  constant 


492 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


readiness  for  the  taking  and  giving  of  life,  —  a  fact  which  com¬ 
pelled  him  to  regard  death  as  a  continual  presence  and  to  view 
life  as  a  serious  business  to  be  dealt  with  soberly  and  courageously. 

It  would  seem  clear  that  the  ritualistic,  passive,  and  monastic 
tenets  of  Buddhism  that  had  fascinated  the  civil  nobility  could 
hardly  satisfy  the  spiritual  demands  of  men  so  uncultured,  yet  so 
profoundly  earnest  and  so  strongly  moral  in  their  social  sanction. 
Only  a  Buddhism  that  was  based  upon  the  pure  monism  of  the 
Mahayana,  and  therefore  simple  and  clear  in  its  doctrine  and  en¬ 
couraging  and  bright  in  its  promise  of  salvation  or  enlightenment, 
making  a  direct  appeal  to  his  bare,  unlettered  human  nature, 
might  be  expected  ultimately  to  win  the  heart  of  the  samurai. 

Before  the  feudal  society  finally  found  a  form  of  Buddhism  that 
met  these  demands  satisfactorily,  a  temporary  haven  was  found 
in  another  doctrine,  until  later  it  was  largely  replaced  by  the  more 
effective  teaching  and  abandoned  to  the  non-feudal  classes  of 
people.  This  transitional  Buddhism  of  the  samurai  was  mainly 
the  Zhodo  doctrine;  it  taught  the  reception  of  the  soul  after 
death  into  the  perpetually  blissful  paradise  of  the  West  by  virtue 
of  faith  reposed  while  on  earth  in  the  saving  power  of  the  Buddha 
Amita.  Without  touching  on  many  problems  that  arise  in  re¬ 
lation  to  the  nature  of  the  history  of  this  doctrine  in  Japan,  we 
shall  be  content  with  the  following  brief  observations  concerning 
its  place  in  the  social  history  of  Japanese  Buddhism. 

In  this  school  of  Buddhism,  the  idea  of  the  transitory  and 
karmic  world  formed  as  important  a  religious  motive  as  in  some  of 
the  beliefs  current  among  the  Court  nobles.  In  the  application 
of  the  idea,  however,  the  emphasis  had  shifted  from  a  passive 
consideration  of  the  present  as  the  karmic  results  of  an  unknown 
past  to  an  earnest  solicitude  as  to  the  future  destiny  of  the  soul. 
Salvation  after  death  was,  in  fact,  the  sole,  ardent  prayer  of  the 
true  Amitaist.  Whatever  the  past,  the  present  must  embody  its 
karma,  and  by  present  faith  and  surrender  must  the  past  karma 
be  extinguished  and  the  future  of  the  soul  be  saved.  Simple  as 
this  change  from  the  earlier  view  might  seem,  it  was  little  short 
of  a  complete  alteration  of  the  religious  centre  of  gravity,  so  to 
speak,  and  indicated  the  rise  of  a  much  simpler  and  purer  faith 
than  had  obtained  before.  And  it  is  clear  that  the  change  was  in 


SOCIAL  REACTIONS  OF  BUDDHISM  IN  JAPAN  493 


a  large  measure  due  to  the  great  fact  that  the  problem  of  life  and 
death  constantly  stared  the  warrior  in  the  face.  It  was  but  a 
normal  course  of  events  in  his  life  of  warfare  that  he  should  take 
others’  lives  and  himself  be  abruptly  taken  away  from  his  com¬ 
rades  and  kin,  and  it  was  but  natural  that  he  should,  as  he  did, 
awake  some  day  to  a  sense  of  sin  and  repentance  and  a  desire  for 
future  salvation  with  a  characteristic  militant  ardor  which  would 
have  surprised  the  Kyoto  noble. 

Simple  and  direct  as  the  new  scheme  of  salvation  seemed,  how¬ 
ever,  it  was  a  salvation  promised  beyond  the  grave.  During  his 
lifetime  the  devotee  was  taught  to  find  the  repose  of  his  mind 
in  a  full  assurance  of  the  saving  virtue  of  his  faith  in  a  transcen¬ 
dental  Buddha,  or,  if  a  pure  and  sustained  faith  was  impossible 
in  his  activity  as  a  warrior,  to  retire  from  society  and  devote  his 
remaining  days  to  a  monastic  life.  These  features  of  the  Zhodo 
Buddhism,  so  briefly  enumerated  here,  suggest  reasons  as  to  why 
it  was  found  at  once  acceptable  as  a  temporary  shelter  for  the 
samurai  but  ultimately  unsatisfactory  as  a  solution  of  problems 
raised  by  the  exacting  spiritual  demands  of  an  age  of  strife.  A 
monastic  life  was  utterly  incompatible  with  the  intensely  worldly 
activity  of  the  warrior,  nor  could  the  promised  peace  of  mind  in 
secular  life  be  attained,  even  with  the  purest  faith  in  his  capacity, 
amid  the  sanguine  warfare  that  was  his  vocation.  The  warrior  in 
full  activity  needed  a  philosophy  more  robust  and  radical  that 
should  deliver  his  mind  from  darkness  and  fear  on  earth  and  dur¬ 
ing  life,  raise  him  above  all  concern  of  life  and  death,  impel  him 
to  a  positive,  creative  activity  in  the  heart  of  the  strenuous  life 
raging  about  him,  and,  if  possible,  give  him  not  only  an  undaunted 
courage  but  also  a  perfect  freedom  and  control  of  his  body  and 
mind,  enabling  him  to  meet  with  readiness  whatever  confronted 
him.  When  the  warrior  became  conscious  of  these  needs,  he 
was  also  aware  that  the  Zh5do  doctrine  could  hardly  satisfy  them 
all,  and  found  in  another  form  of  Buddhism  ready  at  hand  a 
discipline  which  responded  to  his  moral  needs  and  at  the  same  time 
became  strengthened  by  an  intimate  contact  with  his  sterner 
characteristics.  This  was  the  Zen  Buddhism.  From  the  end  of 
the  twelfth  century,  therefore,  the  warrior  turned  more  and  more 
to  Zen,  as  time  advanced,  and  left  Zhodo  more  and  more  to  the 


494 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


peace-loving  peasantry,  —  the  peasantry  whose  social  status  was 
later  to  rise  considerably  and  whose  Zhodo  was  accordingly  des¬ 
tined  to  grow  in  influence.  We  must  now  leave  the  peasant  class 
with  its  Zhodo,  and  turn  to  the  warrior  and  Zen. 

V 

It  is  needless  to  inquire  into  the  history  of  the  dhyana  or  zen 
school  of  Buddhist  thought,  for  we  are  concerned  with  the  social 
reactions  of  Buddhism,  not  its  doctrinal  aspects.  We  shall,  for 
our  purpose,  regard  Zen  rather  as  a  method  of  spiritual  training 
than  as  a  system  of  philosophy.  It  is,  however,  necessary  to  re¬ 
mark  that  the  wdiole  philosophical  basis  of  this  training  was  the 
universal  Way  or  Law,  or  truth,  of  the  Mahayana  Buddhism  as¬ 
serted  without  compromise  or  admixture.  The  Way  was  in  free 
operation  at  all  times  and  in  all  places,  and  “  existed  in  all  men, 
each  holding  it  in  a  perfect  state;”  it  was  his  “Buddha-nature,” 
independent  of  his  birth  and  death.  It  was,  however,  obscured 
in  man  before  his  enlightenment ;  the  enlightenment  consisted  in 
dispelling  the  common  illusions  of  self  that  fettered  and  blinded 
men,  and  in  restoring  their  “original  features”  and  regaining  the 
freedom  of  the  Way  operating  through  themselves.  The  object 
was,  therefore,  not  an  accumulation  of  knowledge  or  of  merit,  nor 
a  dependence  on  a  transcendental  deity,  but  a  purely  independent 
effort  of  the  disciple  to  penetrate  beneath  the  bed-rock  of  his 
ego  until  the  pure  sprjng  of  the  free  ego  should  gush  forth. 

For  this  high  consummation,  the  method  that  Zen  required  was 
of  utmost  boldness  and  rigor.  In  the  earlier  stages  of  the  training, 
the  common  method  in  use  was  as  follows.  Taking  a  posture 
of  the  body  calculated  to  enable  the  mind  to  operate  with  the  great¬ 
est  possible  energy  and  intensity,  its  entire  powers  were  focussed 
upon  the  solution  of  a  series  of  problems  propounded  by  the  master. 
These  problems,  as,  for  example,  “the  sound  of  one  hand,”  “I 
prior  to  the  birth  of  my  parents,”  “A  puppy  possesses  no  Buddha- 
nature,”  and  the  like,  may  be  characterized  as  epitomizing  in 
various  degrees  of  depth  the  illusory  contradictions  of  the  world. 
Nor  was  the  solution  of  any  problem  attainable  by  the  ordinary 
intellectual  processes  of  reasoning  or  intuition,  but  by  no  less  than 


SOCIAL  REACTIONS  OF  BUDDHISM  IN  JAPAN  495 


the  forcing  of  one’s  being,  so  to  speak,  into  the  heart  of  one  prob¬ 
lem  after  another  through  a  concentrated  effort  of  all  his  mental 
strength,  and  the  conquering  of  the  seeming  contradiction  of  the 
problem  by  a  virtual  enacting  of  its  mystery  in  his  mind.  And 
the  method  was  possible  only  with  a  tremendous  determination  to 
stake  one’s  life  and  death  on  its  issue. 

One  effect  that  the  warrior  received  from  a  rigorous,  protracted 
training  in  Zen,  was  a  great  capacity  for  the  concentration,  control, 
and  direction  of  his  physical  and  mental  resources.  The  spirit  of 
boldness  and  free  control  developed  by  the  training  entered  into 
the  life  and  all  the  martial  arts  of  the  warrior  after  the  thirteenth 
century,  as  deeply  as  the  passive  sense  of  karma  entertained  by  the 
Court  nobles  of  the  eleventh  had  influenced  their  sentiment  and 
literature. 

Valuable  for  the  warrior  as  were  the  qualities  of  concentration 
and  control,  a  far  greater  gift  was  in  store  for  a  chosen  few  among 
the  militant  pupils  of  Zen.  For,  it  is  said,  if  the  discipline  was 
persisted  in  for  a  sufficiently  long  period,  a  sudden  “enlightenment” 
would  supervene,  in  which  one’s  “  body  and  mind  would  of  them¬ 
selves  fall  off,  and  his  *  original  features’  be  revealed.”  He  would 
be  completely  lifted  above  life  and  death,  for  he  would  have 
attained  the  eternal,  universal  Mind  and  found  his  personal  place 
therein.  Moreover,  the  enlightened  warrior,  having  entered  the 
free  operation  of  the  Way,  would  gain  a  degree  of  freedom  and 
ease  and  the  celerity  of  vision  and  action  that  would  enable  him 
to  meet  whatever  sudden  crisis  confronted  him.  An  agent  free 
and  identified  with  the  active  principle  of  the  world,  he  wrould 
stand  in  the  heart  of  the  moving  life  and  become  a  centre  of  posi¬ 
tive,  creative  activity  in  society.  Buddhism  would  seem  at  last 
to  have  become  a  purely  active  motive  power;  the  positive  ele¬ 
ment  of  Buddha’s  teaching  so  long  obscured  by  its  negative  as¬ 
pects  would  seem  to  have  reached  through  Zen  the  utmost  degree 
of  masculine,  free,  and  creative  spiritual  energy.  The  growth  of 
Mahay  ana  in  a  warlike  age,  with  all  its  characteristics  and  limi¬ 
tations,  could  hardly  have  been  purer  or  more  complete. 

Of  the  three  great  problems  of  feudal  life,  —  the  attitude  re¬ 
garding  life  and  death,  the  business  and  art  of  warfare,  and  the 
ethical  principles  of  honor  and  loyalty,  —  it  will  be  seen  that  Zen 


496 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


met  the  first  two  with  an  effectiveness  immeasurably  greater  than 
that  of  the  Zhodo  Buddhism.  As  for  the  third,  namely,  the 
loyalty  and  honor  of  the  warrior,  Buddhism,  from  its  intrinsic 
nature,  never  throughout  the  feudal  ages  seemed  capable  of  es¬ 
tablishing  an  organic  relation  with  them.  These  principles  were 
adequately  enforced  by  a  strong  social  sanction,  and  then  after 
1600  certain  aspects  of  Confucianism  proved  of  readier  service 
in  the  inculcation  of  the  principles  than  any  form  of  Buddhism 
had  been. 

We  have  been  concerned  primarily  with  the  social  reactions  of 
Buddhism  in  relation  to  the  ruling  classes  in  the  successive  periods 
of  Japanese  history  between  the  seventh  and  the  thirteenth  cen¬ 
turies.  All  the  more  important  phases  of  the  Mahayana  Bud¬ 
dhism  may  be  said  to  have  come  or  been  imparted  to  Japan  by 
1250.  Henceforth,  one  may  note,  among  other  things,  an  in¬ 
creasing  influence  of  Zen  upon  the  warrior  along  the  lines  already 
indicated.  Likewise,  there  followed  a  gradual  permeation,  through 
literature,  landscape  painting,  decorative  art,  tea  ceremony,  and 
many  details  of  the  daily  life  of  all  classes,  into  the  very  habit  of 
mind  of  the  Japanese  race  relative  to  man  and  Nature,  of  the  Zen 
ideal  of  culture,  —  an  ideal  which  may  perhaps  be  defined  as : 
the  perfect  control  of  concentrated  energy,  and  the  simplest  ex¬ 
pression  of  deepest  study  and  meaning.  It,  however,  falls  beyond 
the  scope  of  the  present  essay  to  trace  these  and  other  far-reaching 
influences  of  Buddhism  upon  the  national  life  of  Japan  after  the 
thirteenth  century. 


NEW  ZEALAND  AND  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN 


J.  Macmillan  Brown 

There  are  three  and  only  three  temperate-zone  insular  countries 
of  some  size  that  lie  across  the  latitudes  and  off  continental  coasts, 
—  the  British  Isles,  Japan,  and  New  Zealand.  The  history  of  the 
first  two  reveals  the  importance  of  their  unique  position.  It  is 
out  of  the  temperate  zone  alone  that  the  makers  of  history  have 
come ;  for  there  alone  is  nature  in  the  mean,  neither  too  lavish  of 
her  gifts,  nor  too  niggardly ;  she  gives  stimulus  and  discipline  with¬ 
out  either  pampering  or  oppressing ;  the  winter  is  not  too  long  to 
crush  advance,  yet  long  enough  to  compel  strenuous  work  for  the 
support  and  expansion  of  life,  and  to  evolve  forethought  for  the 
preservation  of  all  that  has  been  won.  Doubtless  it  was  in  this 
zone  that  man  first  became  distinctly  human,  as  it  is  in  this  that 
he  has  made  his  slow  progress  towards  the  conquest  of  nature. 

When  he  attained  to  imperial  organization  and  ambition,  the 
consequences  of  these  —  war,  conquest,  and  defeat  —  brought 
out  the  disadvantages  of  a  continental  position  for  a  nation  or 
race  that  wished  to  progress  peacefully;  there  are  no  complete 
natural  boundaries,  and  national  frontiers  have  no  fixity.  The 
insular  nation,  once  it  reaches  unity,  is,  as  Shakespeare  saw  when 
he  put  these  words  into  the  mouth  of  the  dying  John  of  Gaunt  in 
Richard  II, 

“  set  in  the  silver  sea, 

Which  serves  it  in  the  office  of  a  wall, 

Or  as  a  moat  defensive  to  a  house 
Against  the  envy  of  less  happier  lands.” 

It  is  “  a  fortress  built  by  nature  for  herself 
Against  infection  and  the  hand  of  war.” 

Not  even  the  recent  conquest  of  the  air  has  changed  this  aspect ; 
for  great  armies  cannot  be  conveyed  with  any  more  safety  athwart 
2  k  497 


498 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


the  air  than  across  the  intervening  sea  so  long  as  the  insular 
nation  keeps  virile  and  progressive.  Maritime  experience  and 
habits  give  a  natural  ascendancy  in  aerial  warfare  to  a  sailor  race. 
This  natural  immunity  of  an  insular  nation  from  successful  in¬ 
vasion  makes  it  less  timid  or  exacting  in  its  admission  of  alien 
immigrants  and  alien  elements  of  culture,  whilst  the  wanderings 
of  its  sailors  in  foreign  lands  breed  tolerance  of  alien  manners  and 
creeds,  if  not  receptiveness  of  alien  ideas.  The  result  is  a  never- 
ceasing  hybridization  of  both  the  race  and  the  culture  that  adds 
strength  instead  of  weakness  to  the  national  morals.  For  nature 
must  have  an  infinite  variety  of  crosses  to  work  upon,  if  she  is  to 
make  the  most  of  an  environment  and  evolve  the  largest  number 
of  competitive  types  that  are  suited  to  it. 

This  is  true  of  all  large  islands  that  lie  in  the  track  of  commerce. 
But  it  is  most  true  of  those  that  stretch  north  and  south  and  so 
have  considerable  variations  in  zones  of  climate.  So  soon  as  their 
peoples  become  unified  under  a  stable  and  efficient  government, 
the  constant  intercommunication  leads  to  as  constant  crossing  of 
the  various  types  that  are  naturally  bred  in  the  different  environ¬ 
ments.  There  is  thus  a  never-failing  fountain  of  new  varieties  for 
the  law  of  selection  to  work  upon  and  an  unceasing  source  of  new 
energies  and  talents.  The  endurance  and  vigor  naturally  bred 
in  the  zones  that  are  farthest  from  the  tropics  correct  the  natural 
tendency  to  luxury  and  indulgence  that  is  apt  to  appear  in  the 
warmer  and  more  genial  zones.  Where  the  islands  lie  along  the 
latitudes  like  Cyprus  and  Crete,  all  the  people  are  made  in  the  same 
mould  and  the  result  is  a  national  inbreeding  that  tends  to  in¬ 
crease  the  weaknesses  of  a  race.  A  history  of  the  ancient  civiliza¬ 
tions  of  these  two  Mediterranean  islands  so  recently  unearthed 
brings  out  the  national  defects  of  their  position  along  the  latitudes. 
The  various  strata  reveal  the  brevity  of  their  periods  of  culture, 
each  degenerating  rapidly  and  having  to  be  renewed  by  stimulus 
from  without,  whilst  when  the  vigorous  Hellenes  burst  in  from  the 
north  the  history  of  the  civilization  finally  closed.  Had  they  lain 
across  the  latitudes,  the  devotion  to  freedom  which  their  maritime 
habits  gave  them  would  have  found  deep  root  in  the  variety  of 
talent  and  energy  that  their  varying  environment  would  have 
evolved.  Their  insular  position  and  maritime  pursuits  and  vir- 


NEW  ZEALAND  AND  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  499 


tues  did  not  save  them  from  the  ultimate  debacle ;  whilst  their 
proximity  to  the  older  Egyptian  and  Mesopotamian  empires,  to 
which  they  must  have  acted  as  commercial  intermediaries,  only 
hurried  it  on  by  giving  their  peoples  too  easy-won  wealth  and 
luxury. 

It  may  seem  presumptuous  to  compare  so  insignificant  a  coun¬ 
try  as  New  Zealand,  lying  as  she  does  at  what  may  be  called  the 
end  of  the  world,  with  these  great  buried  empires  or  with  the 
great  existing  nations  of  Japan  and  Britain.  But  it  is  only  a 
little  over  half  a  century  old,  and  nature  works  on  small  as  on 
great  by  the  same  unchanging  laws.  Where  the  environment  is 
similar,  so  also  will  be  the  career  and  destiny. 

And  it  was  its  isolation  in  the  hemisphere  of  waters  that  kept 
New  Zealand,  as  it  kept  Australia,  out  of  history.  She  lay  on  the 
way  to  nowhither.  And  for  thousands  of  years  she  was  the  far- 
off  terminus  of  the  navigation-track  of  a  long-isolated  people  — 
the  Polynesians.  Not  till  quite  recent  times  did  the  Pacific 
Ocean  enter  into  the  sphere  of  history.  Only  the  coastal  fringe 
of  Asia  was  of  any  consequence  to  civilization.  It  was  the  same 
with  the  Atlantic  during  the  many  thousands  of  years  in  which 
first  the  Persian  Gulf  and  then  the  Mediterranean  was  evolving 
commercial  and  imperial  man.  Not  till  the  compass  gave  con¬ 
fidence  to  sea-daring  did  its  turn  come.  And  now  there  is  every 
indication  that  the  Pacific  Ocean,  the  greatest  of  all,  is  about  to 
come  into  its  supreme  heritage  and  destiny.  The  peoples  of  the 
world  have  been  gathering  to  its  shores  and  islands.  As  the  Suez 
Canal  was  a  symbol  of  the  new  bond  between  the  long-divorced 
East  and  West,  so  the  Panama  Canal  indicates  how  strongly  the 
face  of  mankind  is  turning  to  the  greatest  of  oceans,  on  the  shores 
of  which  with  its  adjoining  seas  more  than  half  the  human  race 
already  resides.  And  within  a  few  generations  two  thirds  will 
be  vitally  related  to  it,  if  not  actually  inhabiting  its  lands.  The 
accelerated  speed  of  human  transit  on  the  sea  and  in  the  air  will 
before  long  reduce  its  dimensions  to  even  less  than  the  Mediter¬ 
ranean  had  to  the  minds  of  the  ancients. 

Then  New  Zealand  will  be,  like  Japan,  in  the  forefront  of  the 
world  and  will  fully  realize  the  prediction  of  its  epithet  “The 
Britain  of  the  South.”  For  though  it  is  many  degrees  nearer  the 


500 


THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  IN  HISTORY 


tropics  than  its  motherland,  it  stands  in  the  eye  of  the  Antarctic, 
and  has  no  Gulf  Stream  to  modify  the  energizing  effect  of  the 
breezes  from  that  frozen  continent.  It  has  none  of  the  extremes 
of  climate  of  so  many  of  the  shores  of  the  North  Atlantic ;  yet  it 
has  so  many  varieties  of  climate  that  it  seems  to  be  a  museum  of 
climatic  samples  from  all  extra-tropical  lands.  Much  of  the 
North  Island  never  sees  snow  except  upon  the  winter-peaks  of 
mountains ;  whilst  much  of  the  South  Island  has  as  fine  oppor¬ 
tunities  for  skiing  and  skating  as  Switzerland  or  Norway.  The 
result  will  be  that  it  will  have  a  much  greater  range  of  human 
type  for  nature  to  select  from  than  its  prototype  has  or  ever  can 
have.  It  will  never  have  so  stormy  a  history  as  the  old  land; 
for  it  does  not  lie  so  close  to  a  continent  full  of  ambitious  powers. 
But  it  will  contribute,  as  it  has  already  contributed,  much  fire 
and  energy  to  the  administration  and  defence  of  the  British  Em¬ 
pire.  Brief  though  its  history  has  been,  it  has  added  some  fine 
material  to  the  army  and  civil  service  in  India  as  well  as  one  or 
two  of  the  foremost  names  to  English  science  and  art  and  literature. 
When  it  comes  to  its  full  maturity  and  can  count  its  population  by 
tens  of  millions,  as  it  will  do  at  some  not  distant  date,  its  varied 
environment  and  its  strenuous  climate  will  ensure  a  greater  supply 
of  talent  and  enterprise  than  its  size  or  increase  in  census  would 
lead  us  to  expect. 

It  differs  from  the  homeland  in  many  other  respects.  It  is, 
and  for  many  geological  ages  has  been,  an  oceanic  land  separated 
by  deep  and  broad  stretches  of  sea  from  all  other  land,  whilst 
Britain  is  an  annex  of  Europe  and  was  in  quite  recent  geological 
ages  a  part  of  it.  The  stretch  of  ocean  round  New  Zealand  will 
make  its  people  ultimately  even  more  maritime  than  their  British 
ancestry.  For  it  is  twelve  hundred  miles  from  Australia  and 
thousands  of  miles  from  every  other  inhabited  continent.  But 
it  is  inferior  to  Britain  in  the  extent  of  its  protected  waters,  the 
nursery  of  seamen  —  a  defect  which  will  be  remedied  when  pop¬ 
ulation  spreads  to  the  great  fiords  on  the  southwest  coast.  After 
the  Pacific  becomes  the  greatest  ocean  in  population-fringe  and 
in  commerce  as  in  extent,  it  will  not  be  unworthy  of  the  name 
“Britain  of  the  South”  in  its  maritime  and  naval  functions. 

Another  essential  difference  between  the  motherland  and  the 


NEW  ZEALAND  AND  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  501 


daughterland  is  the  scale  of  the  scenery.  New  Zealand  has 
mountain  ranges,  peaks,  glaciers,  and  lakes  that  place  it  in  the 
same  category  as  Switzerland,  whilst  its  fiords  will  not  suffer  by 
comparison  with  those  of  Norway.  The  combination  is  of  great 
importance  for  the  future  of  the  country  and  its  people.  Its  lofty 
mountain-ranges  and  the  great  rainfall  on  its  west  coasts  gives 
it  an  enormous  waterpower,  which  when  harnessed,  as  it  now  be¬ 
gins  to  be,  will  place  it  in  the  front  rank  of  manufacturing  coun¬ 
tries  ;  and,  when  it  has  the  great  population  it  will  be  well  able 
to  support,  its  high  valleys  and  plateaux  will  be,  like  those  of 
Switzerland,  full  of  industrial  towns  and  villages.  And  with  both 
a  mountain-people  and  a  sea-people  within  its  borders  it  will 
surely  be  a  lover  of  freedom  and  an  efficient  defender  of  its  own 
independence  and  of  the  liberty  and  love  of  justice  of  English- 
speaking  peoples. 

When  the  last  dream  of  world-conquest  and  world-power  shall 
have  been  dreamt  and  shattered,  when  the  last  military  autocrat 
and  the  last  military  bureaucracy  have  met  the  fate  of  Napoleon, 
when  East  and  West  have  settled  their  differences  and  their  long 
divorce,  when  mankind  shall  have  attained  that  federation  of 
nations  at  peace  which  is  the  ideal  of  all  thoughtful  and  wise  men, 
then,  from  her  environment,  her  oceanic  position  and  her  moun¬ 
tainous  character,  it  may  be  predicted  that  New  Zealand  will  be 
one  of  the  foremost  champions  of  freedom  and  peace  for  all  men. 


INDEX 


Abp. 

Bp. 

B.  C. 

H.  B.  C. 
G.  G. 


ABBREVIATIONS 


=  Archbishop. 

=  Bishop. 

=  British  Columbia. 

=  Hudson  Bay  Company. 
=  Governor-General. 


N.  M.  =  New  Mexico. 

P.  I.  =  Philippine  Islands. 
S.  F.  =  San  Francisco. 

U.  S.  =  United  States. 


Abell,  Alex.  G.,  371. 

Abreu,  Manuel,  report  of,  312,  313;  in¬ 
terview  with  San  Martin,  313,  314 ; 
at  Punchauca,  314;  character,  315. 

Academy  of  Pacific  Coast  History,  5 ; 

12  ;  78,  79  ;  84  ;  373  n. 

Acapulco,  87,  91,  92,  93;  122;  158; 
customs  collection  reformed,  355 ; 
373,  384;  471,  472,  475;  map  of, 

475  n  ;  479,  480. 

Acapulco  Galleon;  see  Manila  Galleon. 

Acosta,  P.  Jose  de,  47,  68 ;  quoted,  120. 

Acuna,  Cristdbal  de,  47,  68. 

Acuna  ;  see  Bravo  de  Acuna. 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  Pres.  U.  S.,  Ill; 
sent  Poinsett  to  Mexico,  331 ;  letter 
to  Rush,  335. 

Adams,  William,  472,  473  n. 

Admission  Day,  celebrated  in  California, 
105,  110. 

Adoption,  in  P.  I.,  173. 

Adrian  VI.,  Pope,  224. 

Aduarte,  F.  Diego,  478  n. 

Adultery,  penalty  for,  in  P.  I.,  180 ;  189. 

Adventure,  the,  278. 

Ae  (A)  Indians,  394,  400,  403. 

Agorangs,  in  P.  I.,  189,  191. 

Agriculture  in  B.  C.,  283,  284. 

Aguilar,  Rafael  Maria  de,  Gov.  P.  I., 
235,  236. 

Aiti,  Garces  at,  321. 

Alaman,  Lucas,  Mexican  Minister,  339, 
340  n,  343,  345  n ;  Historic,  de  M6jico, 
cited,  336  n,  337  n,  338  n,  340  n. 

Alameda,  N.  M.,  445,  449. 

Alarcon,  Hernando  de,  expedition  of,  88. 

Alaska,  Russians  in,  30;  sale  of,  32; 
government  of,  254,  255 ;  reasons  for 
sale  of,  to  the  U.  S.,  269-275;  and 

503 


H.  B.  C.,  281,  282;  trade  with,  301 ; 
and  Puget  Sound,  306 ;  Spanish  voy- 
r  ages  to,  318. 

Alava,  province,  453. 

Alboquerque,  Affonso  de,  25. 

Alborndz,  Rodrigo  de,  454  n,  455. 
Albuquerque,  N.  M.,  399  n,  410,  411,  412. 
Alcabala,  sales  tax,  in  New  Spain,  351, 

355. 

Alcalde  system,  failure  of,  in  New  Spain, 

356. 

Alcaldes  mayores,  in  P.  I.,  242. 

Alcatraz  Island,  367. 

Alcedo,  Antonio,  Historical  Dictionary, 
cited,  121,  125. 

Aleuts,  the,  272. 

Alexander  VI,  Pope,  bull  of  demarcation, 
90. 

Alexander  I,  Tsar  of  Russia,  1801-1825, 
and  Alaska,  273. 

Algeria,  255. 

Allen,  Lucius  H.,  369,  371. 

Altamira,  Juan  de  Albuerne,  Marquis 
of,  395,  396  n ;  recommendations, 
399,  400 ;  404. 

Altamira  y  Crevea,  Rafael,  address 
Share  of  Spain  in  the  History  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  in  English  translation, 
34-54;  the  Spanish  original,  55-75; 
representative  of  Spain  at  the  His¬ 
torical  Congress,  5,  7,  9,  14,  18,  24 ; 
81;  113. 

Altolaguirre  y  Dubale,  Angel  de,  Vasco 
Nuiiez  de  Balboa,  42  n,  63  n. 

Alum,  divination  by,  in  P.  I.,  176. 
Amboyna,  Massacre  of,  27. 

American  Asiatic  Association,  invited 
to  cooperate  in  Historical  Congress, 
4;  6;  8. 


504 


INDEX 


American  Historical  Association,  Pacific 
Coast  Branch,  established,  3  ;  special 
meeting  of,  authorized,  4  ;  6  ;  19. 

American  Historical  Review,  article  on 
the  Panama-Pacific  Historical  Con¬ 
gress,  20  n ;  cited  283  n,  341  n. 

American  Philosophical  Society,  291. 

Americanization  of  N.  M.,  409,  410, 
412. 

Amita  Buddhism,  492. 

Amoy,  occupied  by  English,  30 ;  trade 
with  P.  I.,  214. 

Amur  country,  the,  273,  274. 

Anacortes,  Washington,  304. 

Anc6n  de  Fray  Garcia,  443. 

Anda  y  Salazar,  Sim6n,  G.  G.,  P.  I., 
opposition  to  English  in  Manila,  205- 
207  ;  on  conversion  of  Chinese,  215  n; 
217  n;  221,  222  ;  and  the  friars,  232- 
234,  237 ;  248. 

Andajoya,  Pascual,  119. 

Andr6u  y  Ferras,  Dr.  Antonio,  404. 

Andrew,  John  A.,  111. 

Anian,  fabled  Straits  of,  90 ;  122  ;  276. 

Anito,  spirits,  idols,  in  P.  I.,  189. 

Anson,  Adm.  George,  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  29. 

Antarctic  Ocean,  500. 

Anthony  of  Padua,  St.,  177. 

Antilles,  the,  37,  58. 

Ants,  eaten  by,  penalty  in  P.  I.,  186  n, 
187,  189. 

Anza,  Juan  Bautista  de,  85,  94 ;  march 
of,  95 ;  founded  presidio  of  S.  F.,  95 ; 
overland  expedition,  318,  326,  327, 
328,329;  diary,  319;  correspondence, 
320;  route,  321,  330;  Palma,  323; 
relations  with  Garces,  329  ;  first  expe¬ 
dition,  375,  377  ;  second  expedition, 
376,  377,  382,  383  ;  preparations  and 
aims,  378,  379;  to  explore  S.  F.  Bay, 
379  ;  to  occupy  S.  F.,  381 ;  his  explora¬ 
tions,  383. 

Apache  Indians  and  N.  M.,  389,  392, 
398  n,  405 ;  433  ;  and  Pueblo  Indians, 
440,  447. 

Apacheria,  French  and  the,  404,  405. 

Apache  trail,  433. 

Aramburu  y  Zuloaga,  F61ix,  quoted,  38, 
59. 

Arandia,  Pedro  Manuel  de,  Gov.  P.  I., 
221,  222  n. 

Arangoyti,  Domingo  de,  353. 

Arce,  Jose  Antonio,  432. 

Archbishops  of  Manila,  contests  with 
friars,  Salaz&r,  226 ;  Serrano,  226 ; 
Poblete,  226,  227 ;  Camacho,  227- 


230 ;  De  la  Cuesta,  230,  231 ;  Santos 
y  Rufina,  231-234. 

Archer,  Senator  William  S.,  306. 

Archives  of  Mexico,  319,  320;  373  n; 
391  n ;  405  n ;  430,  438,  439. 

Archivo  de  Indias  (at  Seville),  35,  53, 
56,74;  194  n;  218  n;  219  n;  220  n; 
227  n ;  232  n;  document  from,  312- 
314;  373  n;  406  n;  439;  468  n,  469  n, 
476  n,  477  n,  478  n,  479  n. 

Areche,  Jos6,  353. 

Arellano,  Cayetano,  249  n. 

Arenales,  Juan  Antonio  Alvarez  de,  312. 

Argentine  Building,  Panama-Pacific  Ex¬ 
position,  Session  of  Historical  Con¬ 
gress,  14. 

Argonauts,  California,  98. 

Arikara  Indian  villages,  390. 

Arima,  Japan,  476. 

Arizona,  ceded  by  Mexico,  408 ;  English 
influence  on  Spanish  in,  415  n. 

Arkansas  post  (Los  Sarcos)  394,  396, 
397,  398. 

Arkansas  river,  318,  389,  390,  397,  398  n, 
403. 

Arkansas  route,  Louisiana  to  N.  M.,  391, 
400. 

Arlegui,  Jose,  464. 

Armes,  William  Dallam,  The  Republic  of 
California,  18. 

Armijo,  Manuel,  Gov.  N.  M.,  409. 

Arrack  Farm,  the,  at  Manila,  208,  211. 

Arriaga,  Juli&n  de,  221  n,  222 ;  instruc¬ 
tions  to  G&lvez,  349-352;  374,  376, 
377,  378,  379,  381,  382  ;  death  of,  384  n. 

Arricivita,  Juan  Domingo,  Crdnica 
Apostdlica,  319,  320,  321,  322,  323; 
corrected,  324 ;  325. 

Arroyo  San  Lino  (New  River),  Garcfes  at, 
326. 

Art,  Buddhist,  in  Japan,  485,  496. 

Arthur,  Chester,  Pres.  U.  S.,  134. 

Asakawa,  K.,  Social  Reactions  of  Bud¬ 
dhism  in  Medieval  Japan,  481-496 ;  16. 

Asakusa,  Japan,  472. 

Asia,  Calhoun  on  commerce  of,  307 ; 
Buddhism  in,  484,  485 ;  fringe  of,  499. 

Asiatic  Institute,  invited  to  cooperate 
in  Historical  Congress,  4  ;  6. 

Asiatic  Institute  Conference,  Committee 
of  Management,  12  ;  program,  17. 

Aspinwall,  299. 

Astor,  John  Jacob,  279,  280 ;  292,  293  ; 
298. 

Astoria  city,  301. 

Astoria  venture,  278,  279  ;  292,  293  ; 

298. 


INDEX 


505 


Athabasca,  280. 

Atherton,  Gertrude,  California,  373  n. 

Atlantic  Ocean,  499,  500. 

Atrato  river,  canal,  115,  121,  124,  125. 

Atrevida  and  Descubierla,  expedition, 

122. 

Aubuchon,  French  trader,  401. 

Audiencia,  in  P.  I.,  223,  226,  227,  228, 
231,  235-237  ;  242  ;  its  functions,  243, 
244;  247;  248. 

Audiencia,  of  Manila,  199  ;  205 ;  242  ; 
469  ;  477. 

Augustinian  friars,  in  P.  I.,  227,  233  n, 
235,  236. 

Australasia,  5. 

Australia,  Commonwealth  of,  32. 

Australia,  Dutch  discovery  of,  27  ;  Eng¬ 
lish  occupation  of,  31,  32  ;  out  of  his¬ 
tory,  499  ;  distance  from  New  Zea¬ 
land,  500. 

Avila,  Pedro  Arias  de,  118;  240;  see 

Pedrarias  Davila. 

Ayala,  Gaspar  de,  Fiscal,  P.  I.,  243. 

Ayala,  Juan  Manuel  de,  95 ;  381 ;  on 
S.  F.  Bay,  382. 

Ayeta,  F.  Francisco  de,  439;  and  the 
N.  M.  refugees,  440 ;  reached  San 
Lorenzo,  441 ;  report  of  conditions, 
442,  443  ;  gives  aid,  443  ;  with  the  ex¬ 
pedition,  444  ;  advised  retreat,  446. 

Aylldn,  Lucas  V&squez  de,  118. 

Azara,  F61ix  de,  47,  68. 

Backhouse,  Capt.  Thomas,  201 ;  quarrel 
with  Drake,  204 ;  quoted,  205 ;  206, 
209,  210. 

Baeza,  Pedro  de,  452,  453. 

Bagley,  Clarence  B.,  The  Waterways 
of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  296-307  ;  14. 

Baird,  James,  432  ;  his  career,  433,  434  ; 
his  complaint,  434,  435;  436,  437. 

Baker,  Edward  D.,  Ill ;  364. 

Balboa,  Vasco  Nunez  de,  25,  36,  42,  57, 
63,  66;  85,  86,  87;  117;  148. 

Balverde  y  Cosio,  Antonio,  Gov.  N-  M., 
396  n. 

Bancroft,  Hubert  Howe,  5 ;  77,  78 ; 

quoted,  86  ;  cited,  373. 

Bancroft,  H.  H.,  History  of  Arizona  and 
New  Mexico,  429,  430,  445,  454  n, 
464  a. 

Bancroft,  H.  H.,  History  of  Mexico,  229  n, 
231  a;  and  Garces,  319,  321;  cited, 
336  n,  337  n,  340  n,  348  n,  454  n,  456  n, 
457  n,  459  n,  464  a. 

Bancroft  Library,  Univ.  of  California, 
77,78;  363;  439;  452  n ;  475  n. 


Barangay,  organization  in  P.  I.,  164,  174, 
181,  182. 

Barba,  Alvarez  Alonzo,  47,  68. 

Bard,  Senator  T.  F.,  78,  79. 

Barker,  Eugene  C.,  member  Programme 
Committee,  Historical  Congress,  12. 

Barr,  James  A.,  Director  of  Congresses 
at  the  Panama-Pacific  Exposition,  his 
services  to  the  Historical  Congress,  5. 

Barrett,  John,  on  program  of  Asiatic 
Institute  Conference,  17. 

Barrios  y  Jauregui,  Jacinto  de,  Gov. 
Texas,  406. 

Barrows,  David  P.,  The  Governor-Gen¬ 
eral  of  the  Philippines  under  Spain  and 
the  United  States,  238-265  ;  in  charge 
of  a  session  of  the  Historical  Congress, 
5,  8 ;  13 ;  Census  of  the  Philippines, 
214  n. 

Barrows,  Mrs.  D.  P.,  Member  of  Recep¬ 
tion  Committee,  12. 

Basco  y  Vargas,  Jos6,  Gov.  P.  I.,  222 ; 
248. 

Basque  Provinces,  452. 

Batavia,  Java,  27,  28;  201. 

Beaupr6,  Arthur  M.,  141,  142. 

Beaver,  value  of  pelts,  434,  435 ;  danger 
of  extinction,  436,  437. 

Beaver,  the,  281,  285,  300,  301. 

Bellingham,  Washington,  303,  304. 

Beltr&n  y  Rozpide,  Ricardo,  43,  63. 

Benton,  Senator  Thomas  H.,  306. 

Bering,  Vitus,  30 ;  94  ;  269. 

Berkeley,  Headquarters  of  Historical 
Congress  at,  8 ;  site  explored  by  Anza, 
383. 

Bermeo,  F.,  Diego,  471. 

Bern&rdez,  J.  de  R.,  464. 

Berringer,  E.  J.,  15. 

Berriz,  Miguel  Rodriguez,  Diccionario, 
249  n,  251  n. 

Betille,  French  trader,  401. 

Bienville,  Jean  Baptiste  Lemoine  de, 
Gov.  Louisiana,  391,  404. 

Bikol,  people  in  P.  I.,  164,  189  n,  190  n. 

Bilao,  divination  by,  in  P.  I.,  176,  177. 

Bisayan  Islands  in  P.  I.,  writing  in,  161, 
188  a;  manuscripts,  161,  188  a;  culture 
in,  162;  people  of,  164;  religion,  165; 
laws,  166;  marriage  customs,  170,  171  ; 
old  code  of  laws,  182-191  ;  dialects, 
185  n;  cave  burial,  186  a;  sacred 
trees,  187  a;  bird  myths,  188  a;  Jes¬ 
uits  in,  233  a. 

Black  Hole  of  Calcutta,  197. 

Blackman,  John  W.  B.,  305. 

Blaine,  James  G.,  130,  133. 


506 


INDEX 


Blair  and  Robertson,  The  Philippine 
Islands,  cited,  163  n,  170  n,  172  n, 
205  n,  214  n,  219  n,  220  n,  225  n,  226  n, 
229  n,  241  n;  469  n,  472  n,  478  n. 

Blakeslee,  G.  H.,  Asiatic  Institute  Con¬ 
ference,  12. 

Blanco,  Cape,  89,  93. 

Blancpain,  Joseph,  407. 

Blood-brotherhood,  164. 

Blumentritt,  Ferdinand,  Chinesen  auf 
den  Philippinen,  214  n. 

Bocanegra,  Jos6  Maria,  Memorias,  cited, 
336  n,  337  n,  338  n,  340  n. 

Bodega  y  Quadra,  Juan  Francisco, 
voyage,  376. 

Bodhisattva  Buddhism  in  Japan,  484, 
485. 

Bogota ;  see  Santa  F6  de  Bogotd. 

Bohol,  P.  I.,  233  n. 

Bolivar,  Sim6n,  and  the  canal,  127 ;  a 
monarchist,  315. 

Bolton,  Herbert  E.,  Early  Explorations 
of  Father  Garc6s  on  the  Pacific  Slope, 
317-330;  French  Intrusions  into  New 
Mexico,  1749-1752,  389-407 ;  in 
charge  of  a  session  of  the  Historical 
Congress,  5,  9 ;  member  Programme 
Committee,  12  ;  articles  cited,  406  n  ; 
430  n;  Guide  to  Materials  cited,  440  n, 
442  n. 

Bombay,  195. 

Bonaparte,  Louis  Napoleon ;  see  Napo¬ 
leon  III. 

Bonneville,  B.  L.  E.,  298. 

Bonpland,  Aim6,  44,  65. 

Borrow,  George,  161. 

Boston,  Meeting  of  the  American  His¬ 
torical  Association,  1912,  special  meet¬ 
ing  at  San  Francisco,  authorized,  4  ;  6. 

Boston  merchants  and  the  fur  trade, 
277,  279. 

Botany  Bay,  31. 

Bourgmont,  M.  de  V6nyard  de,  and 
Missouri  Indians,  390. 

Bourn,  William  B.,  member  of  the 
Committee  of  the  Historical  Congress, 
12. 

Bourn,  Mrs.  W.  B.,  member  of  the  Re¬ 
ception  Committee,  12. 

Bowen,  Clarence  Winthrop,  Treasurer 
American  Historical  Association,  11. 

Braddock,  Gen.  George,  campaign,  110. 

Branch,  Alexander,  432. 

Branciforte,  California,  pueblo  founded 
at,  95  ;  see  Santa  Cruz. 

Branner,  John  C.,  Pres.  Leland  Stanford 
University,  invitation  to  Historical 


Congress,  7 ;  member  of  the  Com¬ 
mittee  of  Historical  Congress,  12. 

Branner,  Mrs.  J.  C.,  member  of  the  Re¬ 
ception  Committee,  12. 

Bravo,  Felipe,  and  Buzeta,  Manuel, 
214  n,  226  n,  232  n. 

Bravo  de  Acuna,  Pedro,  Gov.  P.  I., 
218  n,  219,  240 ;  469;  in  favor  of  com¬ 
merce  with  Japan,  469-471  ;  letter  to 
Philip  III,  469  n  ;  sent  ships  to  Japan, 
471. 

Brazil,  57  ;  canal  route,  125  ;  transition 
to  republicanism,  316. 

Brereton,  Capt.  William,  quarrel  with 
Drake,  201-204,  206,  210. 

Bribery  of  Spanish  officials  in  P.  I.,  217, 
221,  232  n. 

Brigades,  horse,  of  the  fur  companies, 
284,  286. 

“Britain  of  the  South,”  New  Zealand, 
499,  500. 

British  Columbia,  5  ;  paper  from  Judge 
Howay  of,  6  ;  32  ;  281,  282,  283,  284; 
sawmills,  285  ;  gold  discoveries,  295  ; 
river  and  harbor  improvements,  305. 

British  Empire,  500. 

British  Isles,  497  ;  compared  with  New 
Zealand,  499 ;  annex  of  Europe,  500. 

Broderick,  Senator  David  Colbert,  364 ; 
Broderick-Terry  duel,  87. 

Brooke,  Henry,  councillor  at  Manila, 
199,  206,  208,  209. 

Brown,  James,  U.  S.  Minister  to  Paris, 
335  n. 

Brown,  J.  Macmillan,  New  Zealand 
and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  497-501  ;  6, 
16. 

Brown,  Capt.  William,  277. 

Browne,  J.  Ross,  Debates  in  the  Conven¬ 
tion  of  California,  108  n. 

Bryan,  W.  J.,  5;  on  programme  of  Asia¬ 
tic  Institute  Conference,  17,  18. 

Bryce,  George,  cited,  281. 

Bucarely  y  Ursda,  Antonio  Maria,  vice¬ 
roy  of  Mexico,  329 ;  and  California, 
374;  reglamento  for,  375  ;  fear  of  Rus¬ 
sians,  376  ;  upon  San  Francisco,  377, 
378;  instructions  to  Anza,  378,  379; 
orders  for  occupying  S.  F.,  379,  380, 
381;  report  on,  382  ;  blamed  Rivera, 
383  ;  orders  to  Neve,  384  ;  report  on 
San  Bias,  384;  care  for  S.  F.,  385; 
instructions  to  Neve,  385 ;  founded 
and  preserved  S.  F.,  386. 

Buccaneers,  the,  27. 

Buchanan,  James,  Pres.  U.  S.,  98;  131 ; 
363. 


INDEX 


507 


Buddha,  Gautama,  481,  485,  490,  492, 
493,  495. 

Buddhism  in  medieval  Japan,  481-496; 
the  Mah&y&na,  481 ;  moral  quality  of, 
483  ;  transformed,  484,  485  ;  art,  485 ; 
church,  485,  486  ;  in  eleventh  century, 
488-491;  Zhodo,  492-494 ;  Zen,  494- 
496. 

Buenaventura  River,  117. 

Buenos  Aires,  313,  314. 

Buffalo-hunters,  Comanche,  391,  392, 
398  re. 

Buffalo,  Meeting  of  the  American  His¬ 
torical  Association,  1911,  invitation 
of  Pacific  Coast  Branch,  4. 

Bugden,  Sophia,  197. 

Bulacan,  P.  I.,  205. 

Bullitt,  James  B.,  on  programme  of 
Asiatic  Institute  Conference,  17. 

Bull  Run,  battle  of,  368. 

Bulnes,  Gonzalo,  expected  from  Chile, 
5,  14. 

Bungo,  Japan,  469,  471. 

Bure,  E.,  432. 

Burnett,  Peter  H.,  first  gov.  of  State  of 
California,  107. 

Burning,  death  by,  penalty  in  P.  I., 
189,  190. 

Burr,  George  Lincoln,  First  Vice-Presi¬ 
dent  American  Historical  Association, 
11 ;  at  session  of  Teachers  of  History, 
15. 

Bustamante  y  Tagle,  Bernardo  de,  318, 
393,  395,  398  re. 

Bustamente,  Fernando  de,  G.  G.,  P.  I., 
246. 

Buzeta,  Manuel,  and  Bravo,  Felipe, 
214  re,  226  re,  232  re. 

Cabeza  de  Vaca,  Luis,  437. 

Caborca,  Mexico,  329. 

Cabot,  John,  117. 

Cabot,  Sebastian,  117. 

Cabrillo,  Juan  Rodriguez,  85,  86 ;  his 
voyage  to  Alta  California,  89,  92,  93 ; 
119;  373. 

Cacique;  see  Chief,  168. 

Ca  Cowista,  Garc6s  at,  321. 

Cadboro,  the,  281,  282,  300. 

Cddiz,  Spain,  350. 

Cadodacho  post,  389,  391  re,  396  re. 

Cajuenche  Indians,  325. 

Calafia,  85. 

Calcutta,  195,  197. 

Calderdn  Enriquez,  Pedro,  215  re,  219  n, 
220  re. 

Caledonia  Bay,  canal  route,  131,  132. 


Calhoun,  JohnC.,  105;  quoted,  306,  307. 

California,  Alta  or  Upper,  ceded  to  U.  S., 
32,  274,  408  ;  coasted  by  Cabrillo,  89  ; 
discovery  of  gold,  98,  99,  294  ;  admitted 
as  a  State,  100,  105,  106  ;  constitution, 
107  ;  organization  as  a  State,  106- 
110;  Wilkes’  prophecy,  296;  elec¬ 
tricity  and  water  power,  305 ;  interior 
unknown  in  eighteenth  century,  318; 
Garcds’  exploration  step  to,  321,  329; 
G&lvez  and,  354,  351  ;  civil  war  period , 
363-372  ;  election  of  1859,  363  ;  of 
1860,  364  ;  secession  movement,  365  ; 
like  a  border  state,  367  ;  soldiers  in 
Union  army,  369;  election  of  1861, 
372  ;  Indians,  374  ;  overland  route  to, 
375;  missions  and  presidios,  380; 
English  influence  on  Spanish  in,  415  n ; 
cult  for  Spanish,  417  n. 

California,  Baja  or  Lower,  Pichilingues 
in,  27  ;  Spanish  discovery,  87,  88,  119  ; 
Cortes’  colony,  88  ;  317  ;  Gdlvez  and, 
354,  357  ;  375 ;  377  ;  385. 

California  Building,  Panama-Pacific  Ex¬ 
position,  Reception  to  Delegates  and 
Members  of  Historical  Congress,  14, 
19. 

California,  coast  of,  Spanish  voyages  of 
discovery,  87-89 ;  91-95 ;  Drake’s 

voyage,  89-91 ;  Vizcaino’s,  92,  93  ; 
318;  373. 

California,  constitution  of,  framed,  107. 

California,  Gulf  of,  88  ;  Vizcaino  in,  92  ; 
119;  124. 

California  history,  study  of,  77-81 ;  first 
professor  of,  80 ;  address  upon,  83- 
112;  romance  of,  86,  87;  111. 

California  History  Teachers’  Associa¬ 
tion,  Meeting  of,  9,  15  ;  papers  read  at, 
separately  printed,  18. 

“California,  Island  of,”  headquarters 
of  French  in  the  Pacific,  29 ;  Montal¬ 
vo’s  romance,  84,  85. 

California,  name  of,  84,  85  ;  88. 

California,  people  of,  112. 

California,  State  of,  admitted  to  the 
Union,  100,  105,  106. 

Californias,  the  two,  government  for,  365. 

Callao,  Peru,  capitulation  of,  312. 

Calve,  French  trader,  401. 

Camacho,  Diego,  Abp.  of  Manila,  227- 
230,  237. 

Camacho,  Sebastian,  Mexican  Minister, 
347,  348. 

Cambdn,  F.  Pedro  Benito,  at  S.  F.,  384. 

Camino  del  Diablo,  322. 

Campbell,  Robert,  282. 


508 


INDEX 


Campomanes,  Pedio  Rodriguez,  Count, 
358. 

Canada,  canal  route  through,  suggested, 
125 ;  eventual  independence  of,  274  ; 
and  New  Mexico,  389  ;  394. 

Canada,  Dominion  of,  and  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  23,  32. 

Canadian  Pacific  R.  R.,  299. 

Canadian  River,  389,  390,  398  n. 

Canal,  Interoceanic,  Spanish  projects, 
45,  46,  66,  67,  148 ;  Choc6  or  Raspa- 
dura,  115,  125,  126;  declared  impos¬ 
sible,  119,  120;  nine  routes  suggested, 
125,  126 ;  Goethe’s  interest  in,  126, 
127 ;  project  of  Napoleon  III,  128, 
129 ;  Clayton-Bulwer  treaty,  130, 

131;  Cullen  scheme,  131,  132  ;  French 
scheme,  133,  134;  resolved  upon,  138, 
149 ;  see  Nicaragua,  Panama,  Te¬ 

huantepec. 

Canal  Commission  report,  1900,  135. 

Canal  Zone,  141. 

Canals  in  Oregon,  302,  303  ;  at  Seattle, 
304. 

Cafiizares,  Jose,  382. 

Canning,  George,  quoted,  293  ;  on  rec¬ 
ognition  of  Spanish-American  Re¬ 
publics,  331 ;  instructions  to  Mackie, 
332  ;  to  Hervey,  333,  334  ;  and  the 
Monroe  declaration,  335 ;  instructions 
to  Morier,  336 ;  recognized  Mexico, 
337,  338 ;  rejected  treaty  with  Mexico, 

340,  344,  345;  attitude  towards  U.  S., 

341,  342. 

Cannon,  Henry  L.,  in  charge  of  meeting 
on  teaching  of  history,  9,  10,  15. 

Canse  (Kansas),  French  military  post, 
396  n. 

Canterac,  Gen.,  314. 

Canton,  China,  222,  279,  290,  293. 

Cape  Horn  ;  name  of,  27;  118;  126,  127; 
307;  382. 

Carbonel,  Esteban,  story  of,  123. 

Cardona,  Nicol&s,  Descripciones,  475  n. 

Careri,  Gemelli,  quoted,  246. 

Carlanes,  Apache  Indians,  392  n,  398  n, 
400,  403. 

Carmel,  Franciscan  mission,  California, 
97. 

Carmel,  River,  named  by  Vizcaino,  92  ; 
407  re. 

Carmona,  Alfonso,  47,  68. 

Carranza,  Baltasar  Dorantes  de,  453  re, 
458,  459  re,  460  re,  462  re. 

Carson,  Kit,  430,  431. 

Carvajal ;  see  Gonz files  Carvajal. 

Casa  Grande,  320. 


Casanate,  Pedro  Porter  y ;  see  Porter. 

Casanlhalaan,  177. 

Casas  Grandes,  441,  450. 

Cascades,  the,  299,  300,  301,  302. 

Castillo,  Diego  del,  317. 

Catherine  II,  Empress  of  Russia,  1762- 
1796,  and  Alaska,  269-271. 

Catiti,  Indian  chief,  N.  M.,  445. 

Cats,  black,  penalty  for  killing  in  P.  I., 
189. 

Cattle  raised  in  B.  C.,  283. 

Cavagnolle  (Cavaganol),  Fort,  391 ;  the 
Kansas  village,  402. 

Cavanaugh,  Major  J.  B.,  304. 

Cave  burials  in  P.  I.,  162,  186  n. 

Cavendish,  George,  27. 

Cavite,  P.  L,  Cornish  at,  199,  200;  Bre- 
reton  at,  202  ;  evacuated  by  the  Eng¬ 
lish,  210;  211;  Chinese  at,  215  n; 
242;  246;  471. 

Cayman,  the,  in  P.  I.,  187,  187  re,  189,  191. 

Cebu,  P.  I.,  Augustinians  at,  233  n. 

Celilo  Falls,  Oregon,  302. 

Census,  U.  S.,  returns,  295. 

Central  America,  117,  128,  129. 

Central  America,  Republics  of,  31. 

Cermeno,  Sebastian  Rodriguez,  85,  91, 
92,  93. 

Cerralvo,  Mexico,  317. 

Cerro  Prieto,  black  mountain,  Garces 
at,  325,  326,  327. 

Chacala,  Mexico,  preferred  to  San  Bias, 
384. 

Chacke,  Martin,  story  of,  120. 

Chadwick,  F.  E.,  U.  S.  and  Spain,  cited, 

333  re. 

Chagres  River,  118,  119;  canal  route, 
119;  125;  see  Nicaragua. 

Chaguagua  Indians,  398  n. 

Chambers,  Samuel,  433,  434. 

Champans,  Chinese  ships,  215,  216. 

Champlain,  Samuel,  idea  of  a  canal,  46, 

66. 

Channel  islands  off  Santa  Barbara,  89, 
92. 

Chapman,  Charles  E.,  The  Founding 
of  San  Francisco,  373-386  ;  15 ;  80  ; 
114  n ;  The  Founding  of  Spanish 
California,  320  n ;  cited,  380  n. 

Chapuis,  Jean,  French  trader,  reached 
Pecos,  400 ;  licensed  to  trade  with 
N.  M.,  401 ;  his  journey,  401-403  ; 
goods  confiscated,  403  ;  sent  prisoner 
to  Mexico  and  Spain,  404,  406. 

Charles  V,  Emperor,  1519-1556,  118,  119. 

Charles  III,  king  of  Spain,  1759-1788, 
30 ;  349,  358. 


INDEX 


509 


Charles  IV,  king  of  Spain,  1788-1808,  45, 

66. 

Charleston,  Meeting  of  the  American 
Historical  Association,  1913,  inter¬ 
national  congress  of  historians  at 
San  Francisco  suggested,  4. 

Chartres,  Fort,  401. 

Chasseurs,  hunters,  French,  389,  399. 

Cheyenne  River,  289. 

Chicago,  Meeting  of  American  Historical 
Association,  1914,  programme  of  His¬ 
torical  Congress  approved,  4. 

Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  R.  R., 
299. 

Chiefs  ( datus )  in  P.  I.,  166,  167,  168 ; 
lawmakers,  170;  174;  judges,  174; 
penalties  for  insults  to,  178,  179 ;  for 
murder  of,  180,  181 ;  feud  wars,  180, 
181. 

Chihuahua,  Mexico,  357  ;  404,  432,  433, 
435 ;  trappers  in,  436,  437. 

Child,  Sir  Josiah,  30. 

Chile,  37,  58. 

Chile,  representative  from,  expected  at 
Historical  Congress,  5. 

Chile,  Republic  of,  31,  32. 

Chilpaines,  Apache  Indians,  392  n,  398  n. 

China,  5,  8;  24;  32;  44,65;  and  P.  I., 
161;  188  n ;  trade  with  P.  I.,  214; 

attitude  towards  Spain,  219  n;  241, 
242  ;  and  Alaska,  272  ;  and  the  fur 
trade,  277,  278,  279  ;  290 ;  lumber 

exported  to,  285;  intercourse  with, 
296,  306 ;  Calhoun  on,  307  ;  trade 
with  Japan,  467  ;  Buddhism  in,  481. 

China,  Bishop  of,  477. 

“China  Ship”  ;  see  Manila  Galleon. 

Chinese  in  Manila,  196,  207,  208,  211  ; 
the  Parian,  214;  number  of,  215; 
government  of,  216,  217  ;  insurrections 
of,  217,  218;  value  of,  219;  vices, 
220  n ;  economic  importance,  220- 
222. 

Chinese  in  P.  I.,  214-222  ;  peril  caused 
by,  214;  the  Parian,  214,  215 ;  num¬ 
ber  of,  215;  insurrections,  217,  218; 
expulsion,  218-219  ;  policy  of  expul¬ 
sion,  221,  222  ;  excluded  by  Americans, 
253  ;  expulsion  of,  263. 

Chinese  quarter  in  Manila  ;  see  Parian. 

Chiquiro,  at  Manila,  469. 

Chirino,  P.  Pedro,  161,  185  n,  187  n. 

Chittenden,  H.  M.,  American  Fur  Trade, 
criticized,  429 ;  cited,  430,  431,  434  n. 

"Chivs,”  southern  democrats  in  Cali¬ 
fornia,  364,  372. 

Choate,  Senator  Rufus,  306. 


Choc6,  Columbia,  interoceanic  canal, 
115. 

Christian  converts  in  Japan,  467,  468. 

Christianity  suppressed  in  Japan,  479 ; 
effect  on  Spain,  480. 

Christians,  Chinese,  in  P.  I.,  215  n,  219  n, 

221. 

Chroniclers  of  the  Indies,  Spanish,  44, 
65. 

Church,  Buddhist,  and  state,  in  Japan, 
485,  486. 

Churchill,  Awnsham  and  John,  Voyages, 
246  n. 

Cibola,  fabled  cities  of,  88. 

Ciguare,  116. 

Cities  of  the  N.  W.,  300;  growth  of, 'in 
N.  M.,  409;  English  and  Spanish 
speaking,  410. 

Civilization,  38,  47,  59,  68. 

Civil  War  in  U.  S.,  precipitated  by  ad¬ 
mission  of  California,  105;  effect  on 
California,  364,  366-372. 

Clark,  George  Rogers,  291. 

Clark,  Capt.  William,  290. 

Clatskanie  River,  Oregon,  303. 

Claveria,  Lt.  Gen.  Narciso,  G.  G.,  P.  I., 
250. 

Clay,  Henry,  105 ;  and  the  canal,  127  ; 
instructions  to  Poinsett,  331  ;  policy 
in  Mexico,  343. 

Clayoquot  Sound,  278. 

Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty,  1850,  130,  131 ; 
132;  133;  134;  superseded,  1901, 

135;  137. 

Clement  VIII,  Pope,  224;  476. 

Clement  XI,  Pope,  230. 

Clergy,  Catholic,  in  P.  I.,  196;  opposed 
the  English,  207. 

Cleveland,  Grover,  Pres.  U.  S.,  and  the 
canal,  134. 

Climate  of  New  Zealand,  500. 

Clive,  Robert,  Lord,  198. 

Coahuila,  Mexico,  317  ;  357  ;  398  n  ;  405. 

Coal  mines,  in  Alaska,  269 ;  in  Van¬ 
couver  Island,  285,  286,  301 ;  on 
Puget  Sound,  301. 

Coatzacoalcos  River,  canal  route,  125. 

“Cochino  de  Vera  Cruz,”  corruption 
fund,  354. 

Cochiti,  N.  M.,  445,  447,  448,  450. 

C6copa  Mountains,  325,  326,  327. 

Codallos  y  Ribal,  Joaquin,  Gov.  N.  M., 
391  n;  392,393. 

Code,  old  Philippine,  in  Spanish,  182- 
185;  English  translation,  185-191. 

Coello  y  Quesada,  Francisco,  43,  63. 

Coinage  duties  in  New  Spain,  351. 


510 


INDEX 


Coleccidn  de  documentos  iniditos,  474  n. 

Colin,  P.  Francisco,  163  re,  172  re ;  quoted 
174  ;  176  re,  181,  189  n ;  468  re,  469  re, 
471  re. 

Collingridge,  George,  43,  63. 

Coloma,  California,  gold  discovered  at,  98. 

Colombia,  South  America,  84 ;  Raspa- 
dura  canal  in,  115. 

Colombia,  Republic  of,  U.  S.  negotia¬ 
tions  with,  136 ;  139-145 ;  English 

recognition  of,  341. 

Col6n,  147. 

Colonization  in  America  opposed  by 
Russia,  271. 

Colonization,  Spanish,  38,  59 ;  failure 
in  Lower  California,  88  ;  suggested  on 
frontier  of  New  Spain,  352 ;  G&lvez’ 
plan,  354. 

Colorado  desert,  318  ;  crossed  by  Garc6s, 
321,329,330;  by  Anza,  382. 

Colorado  River,  88 ;  canal  route,  124, 
125;  crossed  by  Garces,  321,  328; 
Garces  and,  322,  323  ;  mouth  of,  323, 
324,  325;  Anza  at,  383;  407;  St. 
Vrain’s  trappers  on,  433. 

Colorado,  state,  southern,  ceded  by  Mex¬ 
ico,  408  ;  Spanish  population  of,  410, 
412  ;  Spanish  newspapers  in,  417. 

Colton  Hall,  Monterey,  California,  con¬ 
stitutional  convention,  1850,  87,  107. 

Columbia  River  and  Peace  River,  canal 
route,  125  ;  mouth  of,  277,  292  ;  As¬ 
toria,  278,  279  ;  trading  posts  on,  281  ; 
farming,  283,  294  ;  lumber,  285 ;  fur 
trade,  287  ;  exploration  of,  298  ;  trans¬ 
portation  on,  300  ;  difficulties  of,  301  ; 
improvements  of  navigation,  302,  303. 

Columbus,  Christopher,  36,  37,  40,  57, 
61 ;  84,  85,  91 ;  116;  239;  459. 

Comanche  Indians  and  New  Mexico, 
389,  390;  treaty  with  Jumano,  391, 
394,  398  re,  399,  400  ;  on  N.  M.  border, 
391;  attacks  on  N.  M.,  392;  their 
numbers,  393  n ;  and  Jumano  ,397  ; 
398  re;  and  Pawnees,  400 ;  402,403. 

Comancheria,  French  policy  in,  404. 

Combes,  P.  Francisco,  163  re,  178  re,  179  re, 
180  re,  189  re. 

Commercial  treaty  with  Spain  asked  for 
by  Japan,  475. 

Commission  form  of  government,  in  In¬ 
dia,  195;  in  P.  I.,  257. 

Common  law  of  England,  adopted  in 
California,  109. 

Compass,  invention  of,  499. 

Concepcion,  Juan  de  la,  Historia  gene¬ 
ral,  219  re,  226  re. 


Concepcidn,  Point,  named  by  Vizcaino, 
92. 

Concepcidn,  the,  ship  that  first  reached 
Lower  California,  88. 

Confederacy,  Southern,  and  California, 
364,  365,  372. 

Confucianism  in  Japan,  496. 

Congress,  Panama-Pacific  Historical ; 
see  Panama-Pacific. 

Congress  of  American  Republics,  1826 ; 
127 ;  338  re. 

Congress  of  Verona,  1822  ;  331. 

Connecticut,  80. 

Conness,  John,  372. 

Constantinople,  Le6n  in  Nicaragua  com¬ 
pared  with,  128. 

Consulados  in  New  Spain  increased,  358. 

Contreras,  Pedro,  47,  68. 

Convention,  Constitutional,  at  Colton 
Hall,  1850 ;  87,  107. 

Cook,  Captain  James,  voyages,  31 ;  269, 
270,  276. 

Cook’s  Inlet,  277. 

Cooper,  William  J.,  teaching  of  history 
in  schools,  15. 

Copper,  in  Alaska,  269. 

Corcuera,  Sebastian  Hurtado  de,  Gov. 
P.  I.,  240;  245;  246. 

Cordilleras  Mountains,  125. 

Cornish,  Beatrice  Quijada,  Ancestry 
and  Family  of  Juan  de  Ofiate,  452-464  ; 
15. 

Cornish,  Sir  Samuel,  commanding  fleet 
sent  to  Manila,  192 ;  quarrel  with 
Drake,  199-201 ;  202  ;  207. 

Coronado,  Francisco  Vazquez  de,  expedi¬ 
tion  of,  89. 

Corregidor,  P.  I.,  203. 

Cort6s,  Hernando,  45,  66 ;  85,  86 ;  ex¬ 
pedition  to  California,  87,  88  ;  98 ; 

118;  mentioned,  317,  354,  455;  de¬ 
scendants  of,  459  re,  460  re,  463. 

Costa  Rica,  Republic  of,  132,  136. 

Coues,  Elliot,  on  Garc6s,  319,  320,  321, 
322  ;  corrected,  324,  325,  328  ;  330. 

Council,  the  English,  in  India,  195,  196 ; 
in  Manila,  199,  208-210,  211. 

Council  of  Portugal,  477. 

Council  of  the  Indies,  227,  230,  231, 
232;  241,  244;  351,  352,353;  476, 
477. 

Council  of  Trent,  224,  227,  229,  233. 

Cowlitz  River,  Washington,  303. 

Coxinga,  pirate,  218. 

Crame,  Agustin,  375,  376. 

Crete,  498. 

Crimean  War,  273. 


INDEX 


511 


Crimes,  in  P.  I.,  166,  169,  171,  175,  177- 
182  ;  old  criminal  code,  182-191. 

Crocker,  William  H.,  member  of  the 
Committee  of  the  Historical  Congress , 
12. 

Crocker,  Mrs.  W.  H.,  member  of  the 
Reception  Committee,  12  ;  reception 
to  delegates  and  members  of  the  Con¬ 
gress  given  by,  19. 

Croix,  Carlos  Francisco,  Marques  de, 
Viceroy  of  Mexico,  354,  356,  374. 

Croix,  Teodoro  de,  386. 

Cromwell,  Nelson,  146. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  28. 

Crow’s  Nest  Pass  coal  fields,  286. 

Cruillas,  Joaquin  Monserrat,  Marquis 
of,  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  353. 

Cuba,  U.  S.  and,  335. 

Cubba,  Garces  at,  321,  322. 

Cuesta,  F.  Francisco  de  la ;  see  De  la 
Cuesta. 

Cullen,  Edward,  131,  132. 

Cumplase,  251,  253. 

Cunningham,  Charles  Henry,  Ecclesi¬ 
astical  Visitation  in  the  Philippines , 
223-237;  13. 

Cupica.jBay  of,  canal  route,  124,  125,  126. 

Customs  duties,  collection  of,  350 ;  at 
Vera  Cruz  reformed,  354,  355 ;  at 
Acapulco,  355 ;  reduction  of,  358. 

Cyprus,  498. 

Da  Gama,  Vasco,  25. 

Dahlgren,  Erik  Wilhelm,  on  French  in 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  28,  29. 

Daimyos  of  Japan  and  commerce,  467  ; 
of  Iwada,  471,  472;  of  Oshfi,  473, 
475;  Christian,  478. 

Dai  Nippon  Shiryd,  472  n,  474  n,  476  n, 
477  n,  480  n. 

Dalles,  the,  302. 

Danycan,  Noel,  settlement  in  California, 
1706;  29. 

Darien  Company,  Scottish,  123,  124. 

Darien  (or  Urabd),  gulf  of,  117,  118; 
canal  route,  120,  126. 

Darien,  Isthmus  of,  132. 

Darien,  Isthmus  of,  Ship  Canal,  131, 
132. 

Darien  River,  123. 

Dasmarinas,  G6mez  Perez  ;  see  P6rez. 

Datu;  see  Chief. 

D&vila,  Pedrarias  ;  see  Avila. 

Davis,  Adm.  C.  H.,  132. 

Davis,  Horace,  The  “ Home  Guard ”  of 
1861,  363-372  ;  chairman  session  of 
Historical  Congress,  15;  at  meeting 


in  S.  F.,  368 ;  member  of  City  Guard, 
369  ;  of  Home  Guard,  370,  371. 

Davis,  Jefferson,  368. 

Davis,  John,  121. 

Davis,  John  F.,  address,  The  History  of 
California,  83-112;  10,  13,  16;  Grand 
President  N.  S.  G.  W.,  77,  79,  82. 

Davis,  Mrs.  John  F.,  member  of  Recep¬ 
tion  Committee,  12. 

Davis,  W.  W.  H.,  Spanish  Conquest, 
459  n. 

Dawson,  Lewis,  432  n. 

Dawsonne,  William,  197. 

Dease,  Peter  Warren,  283. 

Dease  Lake,  282. 

Death  penalty,  in  P.  I.,  169,  178-182  ; 
186,  187,  189,  190,  191. 

Debt,  slavery  for,  in  P.  I.,  168,  169 ; 
186. 

Declaration  of  Independence,  American, 

86. 

Deities,  in  medieval  Japan,  483,  484 ; 
Buddhist,  484,  485,  488,  489. 

De  la  Cuesta,  Francisco,  Abp.  of  Manila, 
230,  231. 

Delgado,  P.  Juan  J.,  226  n. 

Dempster,  C.  J.,  369. 

Depew,  Chauncey,  111. 

Des  Chutes  River,  300. 

Descubierta  and  Atrevida,  expedition  of, 

122. 

Deseret,  State  of,  108. 

DeSmet,  P.  J.,  cited,  285,  286. 

De  Soto,  Hernando  ;  see  Soto. 

Devil’s  highway,  322. 

Dewey,  Adm.  George,  249. 

Diablo,  Mount,  93. 

Diaz,  F.  Juan,  diary,  319;  correspond¬ 
ence,  320. 

Dibblee,  Albert,  363,  369. 

Dibblee,  Benjamin  H.,  363,  370,  372. 

Divination,  trial  by,  in  P.  I.,  176,  177. 

Divorce,  in  P.  I.,  171. 

Dixon,  George,  277. 

Dobbs,  Arthur,  292,  293. 

Documents  kept  by  Bisayas,  188  n. 

Dodwell,  H.,  193,  197,  198,  211  n,  212, 
212  n,  213  n. 

Dogs,  penalty  for  ill-tempered,  in  P.  I., 
188. 

Dolly,  the,  278. 

Dolton,  Louis,  432. 

Dominican  friars,  favor  Chinese,  216; 
in  P.  I.,  227,  232,  233  n. 

Donner  Lake,  110. 

Douglas,  James,  quoted,  285;  298. 

Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  363  ;  death  of,  368. 


512 


INDEX 


"Douglas”  democrats  in  California,  363, 
364,  367,  368. 

Downey,  John  G.,  Gov.  of  California, 
367. 

Drake,  Dawsonne,  English  governor  of 
Manila,  193  ;  family,  197  ;  early  ser¬ 
vices,  198  ;  installed  as  governor,  199  ; 
quarrel  with  Cornish,  199-201  ;  with 
Fell,  201,  202;  with  Brereton,  202- 
204  ;  with  Backhouse,  204,  205  ;  con¬ 
test  with  Anda,  205,  206 ;  with  La 
Torre,  206,  207  ;  and  the  Chinese  in 
Manila,  207,  208 ;  troubles  with  his 
council,  208-210  ;  deposed,  210;  con¬ 
duct  investigated,  210-212 ;  death, 
212  ;  Manila  loot,  212,  213. 

Drake,  Sir  Francis,  in  Pacific  Ocean,  26, 
27  ;  86 ;  in  California,  90,  91,  93  ;  373. 

Drake,  George,  197. 

Drake’s  Bay,  Cabrillo  at,  89 ;  Drake  at, 
90,  91 ;  Vizcaino  at,  92. 

Draper,  John  W.,  quoted,  86. 

Draper,  Sir  William,  capture  of  Manila, 
30 ;  192,  198,  199,  207. 

Drowning,  death  penalty  in  P.  I.,  186, 
189. 

Dryad ,  the,  281,  282. 

Du  Charme,  French  trader,  401. 

Dunn,  W.  E.,  406  n. 

Duplessis  Falberte,  401. 

Du  Pont,  Capt.  Francis,  201,  202. 

Du  Rivage,  and  the  Red  River,  389. 

Duro  ;  see  Fern&ndez  Duro. 

Dutch,  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  26-28  ;  30  ; 
wars  with  Spain,  218  ;  242  ;  in  Japan, 
469,  469  n,  471  ;  factory  in,  472  ;  op¬ 
posed  Spaniards,  474 ;  threatened 
Manila,  480. 

DuTisne,  exploration,  389,  390  n. 

Duwamish  River,  304. 

Eads,  James  B.,  133. 

Eagle  Pass,  Texas,  318. 

Earl,  Guy  Chaffee,  member  of  the  Com¬ 
mittee  of  the  Historical  Congress,  12. 

Earl,  Mrs.  G.  C.,  member  of  the  Recep¬ 
tion  Committee,  12. 

Earthquake,  Indian  legend  of,  94. 

Easter  Island,  24,  31. 

East  India  Company,  Dutch,  28. 

East  India  Company,  London,  29 ;  in 
P.  I.,  30;  at  Amoy,  30;  expedition 
to  P.  I.,  192  ;  administrative  policy 
in  India,  195,  196  ;  intention  in  P.  I., 
196;  condemnation  of  Drake,  212; 
monopoly  of  trade  with  China,  277, 
279,  293. 


East  Las  Vegas,  N.  M.,  410,  412. 

Eckermann,  J.  P.,  Conversations  with 
Goethe ,  quoted,  126,  127. 

Economic  reforms  of  G&lvez,  358. 

Egyptian  empire,  499. 

El  Aquitum,  Garcfts  at,  321. 

El  Camoqui,  G arc6s  at,  321. 

Elcano,  Juan  Sebastian  de,  36,  42,  57,  63. 

Eldredge,  Zoeth  Skinner,  California 
historian,  77  ;  History  of  California 
commended,  95;  Anza’s  diary,  319; 
cited,  328  n,  373. 

Electric  energy  and  water  power,  305. 

Elhuyar  y  de  Suvisa,  Fausto,  47,  68. 

Elizabeth,  queen  of  England,  26,  91. 

Ellice,  Edward,  quoted,  281. 

El  Paso,  318;  399  n;  404  ;  433,  434, 
435 ;  439,  440  ;  presidio  at,  440  ;  might 
be  abandoned,  441 ;  situation  at,  442  ; 
force  mustered  at,  443 ;  retreat  to, 
447;  450. 

El  Rosario,  Garcfe  at,  325. 

Emperor,  the,  in  Japan,  482,  483,  486. 

Enciso,  Martin  Fern&ndez  de,  44,  65. 

Encomiendas,  in  P.  I.,  242,  244. 

Engelhardt,  Father  Zephyrin,  O.  F.  M., 
The  Franciscans  in  California  (not 
published),  15;  18. 

England  and  an  Isthmian  Canal,  129 ; 
Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty,  130,  131 ; 

and  Russia  in  America,  270 ;  and 
Alaska,  273  ;  see  Great  Britain. 

English  in  North  America,  37,  58  ;  94  ;  in 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  27,  29-32  ;  121,  122  ; 
277. 

English-speaking  people  in  N.  M.,  409; 
number  of,  410 ;  effect  of  public 
schools,  411,  412;  gradual  influence 
on  Spanish,  413,  414 ;  English  words 
in  New  Mexican  Spanish,  414-416 ; 
English  influence  on  Spanish  construc¬ 
tion,  416—418;  terms  in  Spanish, 
418-421 ;  phonetic  changes,  421-423  ; 
resum6,  423  ;  vocabulary,  424-428. 

“Enlightenment”  in  Buddhism,  494, 
495. 

Enriquez,  Pedro  Calderon  ;  see  Calderdn 
Enriquez. 

Espinosa,  Aurelio  M.,  Speech  Mixture 
in  New  Mexico,  408-428  ;  10  ;  chair¬ 
man  of  session  of  Historical  Congress, 
15;  Studies  in  New  Mexican  Spanish, 
cited,  410  n,  423  n  ;  Spanish  Language, 
410  n,  423  n. 

Espinosa,  Jacinto  de,  353. 

Esquilache,  Leopoldo  de  Gregorio,  Mar¬ 
quis  de,  Spanish  minister,  352. 


INDEX 


513 


Estancos,  in  P.  I.,  242. 

Esteva,  Jose  Ignacio,  Mexican  minister, 
343. 

Estojavabi,  Garces  at,  321. 

Eugene,  Oregon,  301. 

Europe,  conflict  of  European  nations  in 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  25-33. 

European  civilization  introduced  into 
America  by  Spain,  47,  68. 

European  history,  importance  of,  for 
history  of  the  Pacific,  32 ;  for  history 
of  California,  83,  84. 

Everett,  Washington,  303,  304. 

Exclusion  of  foreigners  by  China,  219  n  ; 
of  Chinese  from  P.  I.,  253. 

Exposition  at  San  Francisco,  Panama- 
Pacific,  see  Panama-Pacific  Interna¬ 
tional  Exposition. 

Fabry  de  la  Bruyfere,  Sieur,  391,  391  n. 

Factories,  East  India  Company’s,  195. 

Fages,  Pedro,  ordered  to  S.  F.,  374 ; 
expedition,  375 ;  on  California  In¬ 
dians,  380. 

Faillet,  Cdsar,  at  Manila,  200,  201,  202, 
208  n,  211. 

Fairweather,  Mount,  282. 

Faizan,  Capt.  Abram,  201. 

Fajardo  de  Tenza,  Alonso,  Gov.  P.  I., 
215  n,  226,  240,  246;  480. 

Falmouth,  H.  M.  S.,  201,  202. 

Family,  the  unit  in  P.  I.,  164. 

Farallone  Islands,  90,  91. 

Farallones,  Gulf  of  the,  89. 

Faraones,  Apache  Indians,  392  n,  398  n. 

Farming  of  taxes  in  New  Spain,  351, 
354. 

Farrand,  Max,  member  Programme 
Committee  Historical  Congress,  12 ; 
chairman  session  of  Historical  Con¬ 
gress,  15. 

Favre,  Dictionnaire  Frangais-Malais, 
189  n. 

Febre,  Luis,  trader  in  New  Mexico,  394, 
395,  401,  405. 

Fell,  Major  Robert  Edward,  quarrel 
with  Drake,  201,  202  ;  207. 

Feminism  in  Spanish  America,  43,  64  ; 
in  Japan,  487. 

Fer  de  la  Nouerre,  Fran$ois  de,  project 
of  canal,  45,  66. 

Ferdinand  of  Aragon  and  Isabella  of 
Castile ;  see  Isabella. 

Ferdinand  V,  king  of  Spain,  231. 

Ferdinand  VII,  king  of  Spain,  311,  315, 
339. 

Ferndndez  de  Enciso,  Martin,  44,  65. 


Ferndndez  de  Velasco  y  Pimentel,  Ber¬ 
nardino,  47,  68. 

Ferndndez  Duro,  39,  43,  60,  63. 

Ferndndez  Navarrete,  Domingo,  246. 

Ferreiro,  Martin,  43,  63. 

Ferrelo,  Bartolomc,  85 ;  his  voyage,  89  ; 
93;  373. 

Ferry,  Jules,  255. 

Feudalism  in  Japan,  491,  492,  495,  496. 

Feud  wars  in  P.  I.,  180,  181. 

Feuilli  (Feuille),  Luis,  French  trader, 
reached  Pecos,  400 ;  arrested,  401  ; 
partner  with  Chapuis,  402  ;  his  jour¬ 
ney,  402,  403  ;  goods  confiscated,  403  ; 
sent  prisoner  to  Mexico  and  Spain, 
404,  406. 

Field,  Stephen  J.,  quoted,  104-105. 

Fiji  Islands,  32. 

Fines,  in  P.  I.,  166,  169,  175,  178-181. 

Fisheries  of  the  H.  B.  C.,  284,  285  ;  293. 

Fitch,  John  G.,  369. 

Florida,  117,  118;  164;  317. 

Floridablanca,  Josd  Monino,  count  of, 
358. 

Flota,  the,  350 ;  eliminated,  358. 

Fogs  at  Monterey  and  S.  F.,  382. 

Foissi,  400  ;  see  Feuilli. 

Fondos  de  Agafia,  P.  I.,  245. 

Foord,  John,  Secretary  American  Asiatic 
Association,  1 1 ;  Asiatic  Institute 
Conference,  12. 

Forbes,  Cameron,  G.  G.,  P.  I.,  261,  263. 

Ford,  Worthington  C.,  Second  Vice- 
President  American  Historical  Asso¬ 
ciation,  11. 

Foreman,  John,  The  Philippine  Islands, 
222  n. 

Formosa,  245. 

Fort  Alexandria,  B.  C.,  283,  284. 

Fort  Cavagnolle,  391,  402. 

Fort  Chartres,  401,  402,  403. 

Fort  George  (Astoria),  279. 

Fort  Hope,  284. 

Fort  Kamloops,  284. 

Fort  Langley,  281,  284,  285. 

Fort  McLoughlin,  282. 

Fort  Marlborough,  Sumatra,  195. 

Fort  Okanogan,  284. 

Fort  Osage,  430,  432. 

Fort  St.  George  ;  see  Madras. 

Fort  St.  James,  B.  C.,  280. 

Fort  Simpson,  281. 

Fort  Stikine,  285. 

Fort  Sumter,  fired  upon,  364 ;  effect  on 
California,  366. 

Fort  Vancouver,  283. 

Fort  Victoria,  284. 


514 


INDEX 


Fort  Yale,  284. 

‘‘Fourth  of  July,”  384. 

Fowler,  Jacob,  Journal,  429,  432  n,  433  n. 

Fox  River  Indians,  390. 

Foysi,  French  trader,  401. 

France,  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  28,  29,  32 ; 
in  North  America,  37,  58;  85,  94; 

influence  on  Spain,  359. 

Francis,  St.,  of  Assisi,  San  Francisco 
named  after,  95. 

Franciscan  friars,  in  P.  I.,  227,  233  n ; 
in  Japan  opposed  Vizcaino,  474  ;  asked 
for,  from  pope,  475. 

Franciscan  missionaries  at  Quer6taro, 
318. 

Franciscan  missions  in  California,  94-97  ; 
in  Japan,  467,  471,  472,  476 ;  see  Mis¬ 
sions. 

Francis  Xavier,  St.,  452. 

Franco-German  War,  1870-1871,  132. 

Franklin,  Missouri,  434. 

Franklin,  State  of,  108. 

Fraser,  Simon,  298. 

Fraser  River,  278  ;  trading  posts  on,  281  ; 
exploration  of,  298 ;  improvements 
on,  305. 

Fray  Cristobal,  N.  M.,  449. 

Frazer,  J.  G.,  The  Golden  Bough,  163  n. 

Freesoilers  or  Republicans  in  California, 
1859;  363. 

Frelinghuysen,  F.  T.,  134. 

Fremont,  John  C.,  U.  S.  Senator  from 
California,  107 ;  report,  1843,  quoted, 
117;  298. 

French,  rumor  of  discoveries  by  the,  120  ; 
settlers  in  N.  M.,  409. 

French  Interoceanic  Canal  Company, 
133,  134  ;  New  Panama  Canal  Com¬ 
pany,  134,  135,  141,  142. 

French  intrusions  into  N.  M.,  389-407  ; 
attraction  of  N.  M.  to  French,  389 ; 
early  efforts,  389-391 ;  and  the 
Comanches,  392,  393  ;  three  French¬ 
men  at  Santa  Fe,  393-396 ;  Sando¬ 
val’s  party,  396-398 ;  and  the  Ju- 
mano,  397  ;  danger  of  French  to  N. 
M.,  399 ;  intruders  to  be  deported, 
400  ;  later  intruders,  400—403  ;  fron¬ 
tier  policy,  404,  405;  on  Texas 
frontier,  405,  406. 

French  Revolution,  wars  of  the,  31. 

Friars,  in  P.  I.,  196  ;  opposed  the  English, 
207  ;  and  the  audiencia,  223  ;  as  parish 
priests,  224-226 ;  contests  with  arch¬ 
bishops,  226-234  ;  distribution  in  P.  I., 
233  n  ;  value  recognized,  234-236. 

Frobisher,  Martin,  121. 


Fuca,  Juan  de ;  see  Juan  de  Fuca. 

Fuerza,  appeal,  223,  223  n,  231. 

Fur  trade,  of  Alaska,  269,  273 ;  in  the 
Northwest,  276-286  ;  maritime,  276- 
279;  land,  279-281;  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  281,  282 ;  Columbia 

River,  287  ;  Jefferson  and,  288  ;  Lewis’ 
report,  289,  290 ;  its  character  and 
methods  in  the  Northwest,  291-294; 
in  the  Southwest,  429,  430  ;  in  Mexico, 
430;  in  N.  M„  438. 

Fur  traders  and  New  Mexico,  389,  390, 
393,  396,  399. 

Gali,  Francisco  de,  survey  of  California 
coast,  91,  93. 

Galisteo,  N.  M.,  Spanish  fort  at,  392, 
401. 

Gallinas  River,  400,  403. 

Galve,  Antonio,  project  of  canal,  45,  66. 

Gdlvez,  Jos§  de,  85 ;  94;  98;  110;  239; 
his  reforms  in  New  Spain,  349-359 ; 
his  career,  349 ;  instructions  to,  349- 
352  ;  his  powers,  352,  353  ;  quarrel 
with  viceroy,  353  ;  frontier  work,  354  ; 
reform  of  customs  collections,  354, 
355  ;  tobacco  monopoly,  356  ;  intend- 
ant  system,  356,  357 ;  and  Provincias 
internas,  357  ;  economic  reforms,  358 ; 
and  Bucarely,  376,  378,  383,  385 ;  on 
San  Bias,  384. 

Gandhara,  Buddhism  in,  481. 

Garay,  Francisco  de,  118. 

Garcds,  F.  Francisco  Hermenegildo, 
explorations,  318 ;  new  diaries  and 
correspondence,  319,  320;  expedition 
of  1770,  320,  321  ;  first  white  man  to 
cross  Colorado  desert,  321  ;  expedi¬ 
tion  of  1771,  321-329  ;  relation  to  Anza 
expedition,  329  ;  Anza’s  guide,  329  ; 
a  pathfinder,  330. 

Garcia,  Alonso,  449. 

Garfield,  James,  Pres.  U.  S.,  and  the 
canal,  133 ;  147. 

Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  111. 

Garvan,  John,  190  n. 

Gemelli  Careri,  quoted,  246. 

Genoa,  Doge  of,  received  Japanese  con¬ 
voys,  480. 

Gentil  de  la  Galaisifere  ;  see  Le  Gentil. 

Geography,  Spanish  interest  in,  41,  44, 
60,  65  ;  Jefferson’s  interest  in,  288. 

Germany,  28,  32. 

Geronimo  de  Jesfis,  F.,  467 ;  letter  to 
P.  I.,  468  ;  at  Manila,  469  ;  death  of, 
471,  472;  474. 

Gila  Bend,  321. 


INDEX 


515 


Gila  Range,  322 ;  Garcesat,  328 ;  trail 
from,  329,  330. 

Gila  River,  317,  318,  320,  321  ;  Garc&s 
at,  322,  324  ;  Anza  at,  383  ;  St.  Vrain’s 
trappers  on,  433,  434. 

Ginseng,  trade  in,  276. 

Gioyemon,  468. 

Girault,  Principes,  255  n. 

Glenn,  William,  433. 

Goa,  viceroy  of,  478. 

Godoy,  Lorenzo  Alvarez,  404. 

Goethe,  J.  W.  von,  quoted,  126,  127. 

Gold,  lure  of,  to  the  Spanish  conquista- 
dores,  87  ;  discovery  of,  in  California, 
98,  99 ;  294,  295 ;  mining  laws  in 

California,  99-105 ;  in  Alaska,  269, 
274;  production  of,  in  New  Spain, 
356;  in  N.  M„  389. 

Gold  and  Silver  Islands,  472,  474. 

Golden  Gate,  not  discovered  by  Cabrillo, 
89,  or  Drake,  91,  or  Vizcaino,  92,  93, 
373  ;  Indian  legend  of,  93,  94  ;  trav¬ 
ersed  by  Ayala,  95. 

Golden  Hind,  the,  Drake’s  ship,  86,  90. 

Golder,  Frank  A.,  Attitude  of  the  Rus¬ 
sian  Government  toward  Alaska,  269- 
275;  14. 

Gdmara,  Francisco  Lopez  de,  Historia 
de  las  Indias,  routes  for  a  canal,  119. 

G6mez,  Estevan,  118. 

Gomez  Ortega,  Casimiro,  47,  68. 

Gonzdles  Carvajal,  Ciriaco,  in  P.  I.,  248. 

Gonzdlez,  Felipe,  31. 

Gonzalez  de  Ribera,  Pedro,  220  n. 

Governor  and  council  in  India,  195, 
196. 

Governor-general  of  P.  I.,  under  Spain, 
238-251  ;  history  of  the  office,  239- 
241  ;  duties,  242  ;  checks  upon,  243, 
244  ;  by  audiencia,  244,  245  ;  by 
church,  245,  246 ;  by  residencia,  246  ; 
by  visitation,  247 ;  relation  with 
Mexico,  247  ;  reforms  in  office,  248- 
251  ;  development  of  American  G.  G., 
257-265 ;  (tiecks  on  viceroy  in  New 
Spain,  357. 

Goyeneche,  Jos6  Manuel,  canal  route, 
124,  125. 

Gracias  &  D16s,  Cape,  Nicaragua,  116. 

Gran  Montana,  boundary  of  Texas,  406. 

Granada,  city,  Nicaragua,  118. 

Grand  Para  River,  canal  route,  125. 

Grant,  Joseph  D.,  member  of  the  Com¬ 
mittee  of  the  Historical  Congress, 
12. 

Grant,  Mrs.  Joseph  D.,  member  of  the 
Reception  Committee,  12. 


Grant,  U.  S.,  Pres.  U.  S.,  and  an  isth¬ 
mian  canal,  133. 

Grau,  Enrique,  Peruvian  Consul  in  S.  F., 

6. 

Grau  y  Monfalcon,  Juan,  215. 

Graves,  Frank  B.,  114  n. 

Graves,  respect  for,  in  P.  I.,  186. 

Gray,  Capt.  Robert,  278. 

Gray’s  Harbor,  Washington,  303. 

Gray’s  river,  Washington,  303. 

Great  Britain  and  Mexico,  1822-1826, 
331-348;  see  Canning. 

Great  Northern  R.  R.,  299. 

Greene,  Evarts  B.,  Secretary  to  the 
'  Council  of  the  American  Historical 
Association,  11. 

Gregg,  Josiah,  Commerce  of  the  Prairies, 
criticized,  429  ;  432  n. 

Gregory  XIII,  Pope,  476. 

Greytown,  Central  America,  135. 

Grimaldi,  Geronimo,  Marquis  of,  Span¬ 
ish  statesman,  349. 

Guadalajara,  Diego  de,  317. 

Guadalajara,  Mexico,  356,  457. 

Guadalupe  del  Paso,  439,  443. 

Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  Treaty  of,  1848 ; 
32;  99. 

Guam,  253. 

Guatemala,  247,  384. 

Guerrero,  Leon  Maria,  address,  155- 
159 ;  chairman  of  Philippine  Islands 
session  of  Historical  Congress,  13. 

Guido,  313,  314. 

Gulf  Stream,  500. 

Gulick,  Sidney  L.,  on  program  of  Asiatic 
Institute  Conference,  17. 

Gunpowder,  production  of,  in  New  Spain, 
356. 

Guzmdn,  Nufio  de,  456,  457. 

Guzmdn,  Tello  de,  G.  G.,  P.  I.,  243. 

Gwin,  William  M.,  U.  S.  Senator  from 
California,  107  ;  366,  372. 

Hackett,  Charles  Wilson,  Causes  for 
the  Failure  of  Otermin’s  Attempt  to 
Reconquer  New  Mexico,  168 1-1 682, 439- 
451  ;  15;  articles  cited,  440  n,  446  n. 

Halberds,  of  the  Manila  guard,  243  n. 

Hale,  E.  E„  85. 

Hancock,  John,  111. 

Harbor,  search  for  a,  in  California,  91-93. 

Harford,  Crystal,  on  teaching  history  in 
schools  (printed  elsewhere),  15. 

Harmon,  Daniel  Williams,  quoted,  280 ; 
298. 

Haro,  Alonso  L6pez  de,  452  n,  459  n, 
460,  463  n. 


516 


INDEX 


Harrison,  Francis  Burton,  G.  G.,  P.  I., 
261,  263. 

Harte,  Bret,  99,  110. 

Hasekura,  Rokuyemon,  Japanese  envoy 
to  Europe,  475,  480. 

Hastings,  Warren,  196,  198. 

Hawaii,  government  of,  254  ;  and  Alaska, 
272  ;  and  N.  W.  America,  276,  283  ; 
H.  B.  C.  post  in,  284  ;  lumber  shipped 
to,  285  ;  trade,  306. 

Hay,  John,  138,  140,  143,  144. 

Hay-Pauncefote  Treaty,  1901 ;  135  ;  139. 

Hay-Pauncefote  Treaty,  first  draft,  138. 

Hayes,  Rutherford  B.,  Pres.  U.  S.,  and 
the  canal,  127  ;  133. 

Head  hunting,  180. 

Hearst,  Mrs.  Phoebe  Apperson,  member 
of  the  Committee  of  the  Historical 
Congress,  12 ;  president  of  the  Re¬ 
ception  Committee,  12 ;  reception 
given  to  Delegates  and  Members  of 
the  Congress  by,  16,  19  ;  79. 

Heceta,  Bruno  de,  376,  379,  381 ;  at  S.  F., 
382. 

Heintzelman’s  Point,  324,  325. 

Hellenes,  the,  498. 

Henry  VII,  king  of  England,  117. 

Henry  the  Navigator,  Prince,  25. 

Heres,  Gen.,  313. 

Hermosillo,  Mexico,  430. 

Hernandez,  Dr.  Francisco,  43,  47,  64, 

68. 

Herrera,  Antonio,  47,  68. 

Herrin,  William  F.,  member  of  the 
Committee  of  the  Historical  Congress, 
12. 

Herring  fishery  at  Nanaimo,  284. 

Hervey,  Lionel,  commissioner  to  Mexico, 
333,  336  ;  recalled,  336  ;  337,  338, 

Hidetada,  received  Vizcaino,  473  ;  474  ; 
475  ;  letters  presented  at  Madrid,  476  ; 
suppressed  Christianity  in  Japan, 
479. 

Hideyori,  467,  479. 

Hideyoshi,  467,  threatened  P.  I.,  468. 

Himamaylan,  Pavdn  stationed  at,  160. 

Hirado,  Japan,  Dutch  factory  at,  472  ; 
open  port,  479. 

Historical  Society  of  Southern  California, 
cited,  380  n. 

History,  teaching  of,  in  schools,  15;  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  37,  38,  40,  58, 
59,65;  111,112;  137;  155-158;  in 
P.  I.,  156,  158;  moral  mission,  157. 

Hittell,  Theodore  H.,  California  his¬ 
torian,  77  ;  quoted  89. 

Hoefer,  Ferdinand,  47,  68. 


Hoffman,  Charles  F.,  Winter  in  the  West, 
429  n. 

Hojeda,  Alonzo  de,  colonization  scheme, 
117. 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  111. 

Home  Guard  of  San  Francisco,  1861, 
363-372 ;  suggested,  368 ;  enrolled, 
369;  the  call,  370,  371;  the  pledge, 
371,  372;  dissolved,  372. 

Honduras,  Republic  of,  U.  S.  treaty 
with,  130. 

Horcasitas,  Sonora,  382,  383. 

Horses,  raised  in  B.  C.,  284. 

Horticulture,  earliest,  in  B.  C.,  280. 

Hotaling,  Richard  M.,  member  of  the 
Committee  of  the  Historical  Congress, 
12. 

House  of  Representatives,  U.  S.,  reso¬ 
lution  on  Isthmian  Canal,  1839,  128. 

Howay,  J.  W.,  The  Fur  Trade  in  North¬ 
western  Development,  276-286 ;  6,  14. 

Howse,  Joseph,  280. 

Huasacualco  River,  canal  route,  125. 

Huaura,  San  Martin  at,  313. 

Hubbard,  Captain  John,  147. 

Hudson  Bay,  122. 

Hudson’s  Bay  Company,  271 ;  united 
with  North  West  Company,  280  ;  and 
the  fur  trade,  280-282  ;  its  limits,  282, 
283 ;  takes  to  farming,  283,  284 ; 
raises  horses,  284 ;  its  fisheries,  284, 
285  ;  lumber,  285 ;  coal,  285,  286  ; 
mail  service,  286 ;  its  fur  trade,  292, 
293;  298;  300. 

Humboldt,  Alexander  von,  44,  46,  47, 
65,  67,  68  ;  112  ;  on  Raspadura  canal, 
115;  nine  canal  routes,  125,  126  ;  dis¬ 
cussed  by  Goethe,  126;  229  n. 

Hunt,  Wilson  Price,  298. 

Hurtado  de  Corcuera,  Sebastidn,  Gov. 
P.  I.,  240;  245,246. 

Hurtado,  Vargas  ;  see  Vargas  Hurtado. 

Ibanag,  people  in  P.  I.,  164. 

Idaho,  State,  river  improvements,  302. 

Idaho  Territory,  295. 

Ide,  Henry  C.,  Philippine  Commission, 
255. 

Ignatius  of  Loyola,  St.,  452. 

Ikoku  Nikki  ShO,  469  n,  474  n. 

Illinois,  State,  294  ;  the,  390;  394;  401. 

Ilokano,  people  in  P.  I.,  164. 

Imus,  P.  I.,  235. 

India,  English  in,  27 ;  administration 
of  the  Company  in,  195,  196  ;  Bud¬ 
dhism  in,  481,  484. 

Indiana,  State,  294. 


INDEX 


517 


Indianapolis,  meeting  of  American  His¬ 
torical  Association,  1910 ;  3,  4. 

Indian  legend  of  the  Golden  Gate,  93,  94. 

Indian  rebellion  in  N.  M.,  408,  439,  449. 

Indian  tribes  and  N.  M.,  389 ;  and  the 
French,  390;  398  n;  406;  in  N.  M., 
440,  441,  445,  447 ;  Indian  fighting, 
449,  450. 

Indians  of  California,  374,  376,  380,  382  ; 
outbreak  at  San  Diego,  383. 

Ink  of  the  Bisayas,  188  n. 

Inman,  Henry,  Old  Santa  F6  Trail , 
cited,  430,  431,  432  n. 

Inquisition,  Holy,  in  P.  I.,  246,  247. 

Insults  to  chiefs,  penalty  for,  in  P.  I., 
178,  179. 

Intendancies,  proposed  for  New  Spain, 
352  ;  adopted,  356,  357,  358. 

Interoceanic  Canal ;  see  Canal. 

Iowa,  State  of,  interest  in  history,  79, 
80 ;  settlement  of,  287,  294,  295 ; 
Indians,  390. 

Irala,  Diego  de  Gorospe,  Bp.  of  Nueva 
Segovia,  231. 

Iron,  in  medieval  Japan,  482. 

Irving,  Washington,  42,  63 ;  quoted, 
278,  279  ;  Tour  of  the  Prairies,  429  n. 

Isabella,  queen  of  Castille,  49,  69  ;  84, 
85;  116. 

Ise,  Japan,  467. 

Islands,  advantages  of,  497,  498  ;  civili¬ 
zation  of,  498,  499. 

Isleta,  N.  M.,  taken  by  Otermin,  445; 
retreat  to,  446  ;  burned,  447  ;  448,  449. 

Isthmian  Canal ;  see  Canal. 

Isthmus  of  Darien  ;  see  Darien. 

Isthmus  of  Nicaragua ;  see  Nicaragua. 

Isthmus  of  Panama  ;  see  Panama. 

Italians  in  N.  M.,  410. 

Iturbide,  Agustin  de,  Emperor  of  Mexico, 
332,  337. 

Iwada,  Japan,  471. 

Iwakura,  Ambassador,  480  n. 

Iyeyasu,  desires  relations  with  Mexico, 
467  ;  communicates  with  P.  I.,  468, 
469  ;  reply  of  Acuna,  469  ;  relations 
with  P.  I.,  established,  471 ;  sent 
envoy  to  Spain,  472 ;  received  Viz¬ 
caino,  473;  attitude  towards  him, 
474,  474  n  ;  letters  presented  at  Ma¬ 
drid,  476 ;  letter  to,  promising  trade 
with  Mexico,  477,  478 ;  persecuting 
Christians,  478 ;  letter  to,  revised, 
479 ;  death,  479. 

Jalapa,  Mexico,  338 ;  the  fair  at,  350. 

Jamaica,  occupied  by  Cromwell,  28  ;  396. 


Jameson,  J.  Franklin,  article  on  Panama- 
Pacific  Historical  Congress,  20  n  ;  113. 

Jamestown,  Virginia,  86. 

Japan,  23,  32;  44,  65;  113;  protest 

against  treatment  of  Japanese,  219  n; 
241-242;  constitution  of,  262  n ;  and 
Alaska,  272  ;  intercourse,  with,  296  ; 
306  ;  Calhoun  on,  307  ;  in  temperate 
zone,  497  ;  compared  with  New  Zea¬ 
land,  499. 

Japan,  Buddhism  in  medieval,  481^196  ; 
its  arrival,  481 ;  society  in  the  sixth 
century,  482,  483 ;  religious  beliefs, 
483  ;  transformed,  484,  485 ;  organized 
church,  486,  486  ;  society  in  the  elev¬ 
enth  century,  487,  488  ;  Buddhism  in, 
488-491 ;  feudalism  in,  491,  492  ; 
Zhodo  Buddhism,  492-494 ;  Zen 
Buddhism,  494^496. 

Japan,  early  attempts  to  establish  com¬ 
mercial  relations  with  Mexico,  467- 
480 ;  approaches  made  by  Iyeyasu, 
467,  468  ;  fear  of,  in  P.  I.,  468  ;  survey 
of  coast,  473,  474  ;  trade  with  Macao, 
476  ;  Jesuits  in,  476  ;  trade  with 
Mexico  opposed  by  P.  I.,  477  ;  extent 
of  trade  with  P.  I.,  477,  477  n  ;  foreign 
commerce  and  Christianity  suppressed, 
479  ;  failure  of  attempt  to  open  trade, 
480. 

Japan,  represented  at  Historical  Con¬ 
gress  by  Professor  Murakami,  5,  24 ; 
session  of  Historical  Congress  dealing 
with,  10. 

Japanese,  in  Manila,  215;  pirates  in 
P.  I.,  468,  469;  not  good  navigators, 
471,  477  ;  merchants  in  Mexico,  472, 
473;  475. 

Java,  27. 

Jeandron,  French  trader,  401. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  Pres.  U.  S.,  idea  of 
Western  exploration,  287,  288;  in¬ 
structions  to  Lewis,  288 ;  interest  in 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  291 ;  instructions  to 
Michaux,  291  ;  hopes  of,  297  ;  con¬ 
sulted  on  Mexico,  334. 

Jenks,  Livingston,  member  of  Qommittee 
of  the  Historical  Congress,  12. 

Jenks,  Mrs.  Livingston,  member  of 
Reception  Committee,  12. 

Jesuits,  in  P.  I.,  227,  232  n,  233  n;  ex¬ 
pulsion  of,  318;  from  Mexico,  354; 
in  Japan,  476,  478;  opposed  to  em¬ 
bassy  from  Japan,  479. 

Jews,  Chinese  in  P.  I.,  treated  like,  221  ; 
Jews  in  N.  M.,  410. 

Jicarilla  Apaches,  400,  403. 


518 


INDEX 


Jimenez,  Fortiin,  discovery  of  California, 
87,  88. 

Jimenez  (XimSnez),  Francisco,  47,  68. 

Jimfenez  de  la  Espada,  Marcos,  43,  44,  63, 
64,  65. 

Johnson,  Hiram  W.,  Gov.  of  California, 
81. 

Johnson,  Samuel,  councilor  at  Manila, 
199,  209. 

Johnson,  W.  F.,  Four  Centuries  of  the 
Panama  Canal,  quoted,  134. 

Johnston,  Gen.  Albert  Sidney,  366. 

Jolo  (Sulu),  196. 

Joon,  Joaquin,  a  trapper,  432,  433  ;  see 
Young,  Ewing. 

Jordan,  David  Starr,  Chancellor  of  Le- 
land  Stanford  University,  member  of 
Committee  of  the  Historical  Congress, 
12 ;  chairman  of  session  of  the  His¬ 
torical  Congress,  16;  on  programme  of 
Asiatic  Institute  Conference,  17. 

Jordan,  Mrs.  David  Starr,  member  of 
Reception  Committee,  12. 

Jordana  y  Morera,  Ramdn,  214  n. 

Jourdan,  Francis,  councillor  at  Manila, 
208  n,  209,  210. 

Jovellar  y  Soler,  Joaquin,  Capt.-Gen. 
P.  I.,  250. 

Juan  de  Fuca,  straits  of,  122  ;  296. 

Juan  de  Fuca,  voyage,  122. 

Juan,  Jorge,  44,  47,  65,  68. 

Judicial  procedure  in  P.  I.,  174-177. 

Jululu  Lake,  Garces  at,  326. 

Jumano  Indians,  villages,  389,  390 ; 
treaty  with  Comanche,  391 ;  392 ; 

394 ;  394  n;  397 ;  398 ;  398  n  ;  399 ; 
treaty  with  Pawnees,  400. 

‘‘Junius,  Letters  of,”  192. 

Junxtiana,  suggested  Republic  of,  126. 

Kamchatka,  273. 

Kamloops,  284. 

Kansas,  State,  294  ;  295 ;  problem,  363  ; 
Indian  chiefs,  390 ;  French  military 
post,  396  n  ;  Indians,  402. 

Kansas  village,  391,  401 ;  see  Cavagnolle. 

Karma  idea  in  Buddhism,  485 ;  in 
Japan,  486  ;  at  Kydto,  489,  490 ;  in 
Zhodo,  492  ;  495. 

Kazusa,  Japan,  471. 

Kearny,  Gen.  Stephen  W.,  408. 

Keller,  F.  Ignacio  Xavier,  317,  318. 

Kennedy,  James,  and  the  Chinese  in 
Manila,  207,  208 ;  quoted,  208. 

Kentucky,  California  in  1861  like,  367. 

Kerlerec,  Louis  Billouart  de,  Gov.  Louis¬ 
iana,  404. 


King,  Thomas  Starr,  111  ;  364,  366,  368, 
369. 

King  George’s  Sound  Company,  277. 

King  Philip’s  War,  110. 

Kino,  P.  Eusebio  Francisco,  317, 318, 321, 
322,  328,  330. 

Kittle,  John,  369. 

Knight,  John,  122. 

Kombaku,  Japan,  473. 

Kootenay  region,  286. 

Korea,  Buddhism  in,  481 ;  brought  from, 
to  Japan,  482,  483. 

Kwantd,  Japan,  467,  468,  469,  471. 

Ky6to,  Japan,  474 ;  social  life  of,  487, 
488;  Buddhism  at,  488-491:^491, 
493. 

Kyhshh,  Japan,  foreign  commerce  with, 
467,  471 ;  Christian  Daimyds  of,  478. 

La  Bastide,  Martin  de,  canal  project,  45, 

66. 

Labrador,  120,  122. 

La  Cieneguilla,  N.  M.,  445. 

Ladron  or  Ladrone  Islands,  44,  65 ;  245. 

Laguna  de  San  Matheo,  Garces  at,  326. 

Laguna  de  T6rminos,  353. 

La  Harpe,  Benard  de,  and  New  Mexico, 
389,  390. 

Lait&ne,  Comanche  Indians,  391. 

La  Llave,  Pablo,  de  337  n. 

La  Merced,  village,  Garc6s  at,  326. 

Langlois,  C.  V.,  Bancroft  et  Compagnie, 
78. 

La  Perouse,  Jean  Francois  de  Galaup, 
comte  de,  270. 

Lara,  Sabiniano  Manrique  de ;  see  Man- 
rique  de  Lara. 

La  R&bida,  84. 

Larkin,  Thomas  O.,  U.  S.  consul  at 
Monterey,  quoted,  98. 

La  Rosa,  Jos§  de,  245  n. 

Larrabure  t  Unanue,  E.,  The  Mo¬ 
narchical  Plans  of  General  San  Martin, 
311-316;  6,14. 

La  Salle,  Rene  Robert  Cavelier  de,  287. 

Las  Casas,  Bartolom6  de,  50,  71. 

Las  Cruces,  N.  M.,  410. 

La  Serna,  Hernando  de,  118. 

La  Serna,  Jose  de,  viceroy  of  Peru,  312, 
314. 

Las  Llagas  de  San  Francisco,  325,  326. 

Las  Pinas,  P.  I.,  235. 

Las  Vegas,  East,  West,  410. 

La  Torre,  Francisco  de,  Gov.  P.  I.,  206. 

Latren,  Pedro  ;  see  Satren. 

Laufer,  Berthold,  Chinese  in  Philippines, 
214  n,  219  n. 


INDEX 


519 


Lavezaris,  Guido  de,  243. 

“Law,”  the,  in  Buddhism,  484,  485,  494. 

Law,  early,  in  P.  I.,  164,  165,  166 ;  made 
by  chiefs,  170,  174  ;  laws  of  inheritance, 
172,  173  ;  of  partnership,  173,  174 ; 
criminal,  177-182  ;  old  criminal  code, 
182-191. 

Laws  of  the  Indies,  Spanish,  50,  71 ; 
215  n,  216,  217  n,  231. 

“Lecompton”  democrats  in  California, 
363. 

Ledesma,  Pedro  de,  123. 

Ledyard,  John,  291. 

Leebrick,  Karl  Clayton,  Troubles  of 
an  English  Governor  of  the  Philippine 
Islands,  192-213;  13. 

Legazpi,  Miguel  L6pez  de,  occupied  P.  I., 
26  ;  governor  of,  239,  240 ;  243. 

Le  Gentil  de  la  Galaisifere,  Guillaume 
Joseph  Hyacinthe  Jean  Baptiste, 
Voyage,  219,  232  n. 

Leith,  124. 

Leland,  Waldo  G.,  Secretary  American 
Historical  Association,  11. 

Leo  X,  Pope,  224. 

Le6n,  Manuel  de,  Gov.  P.  I.,  240. 

Leon,  Nicaragua,  compared  with  Con¬ 
stantinople,  128. 

LeRoy,  James,  Americans  in  P.  I.,  251  n, 
253  n. 

Lesseps,  Ferdinand  de,  133. 

"Letters  of  Junius,”  192. 

Lewis,  Meriwether,  Jefferson’s  instruc¬ 
tions  to,  288  ;  report  of,  289,  290. 

Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition,  287-291 ; 
298. 

Lewis  River,  Washington,  303. 

Lewiston,  Idaho,  301,  303. 

Leyte,  P.  I.,  233  n. 

Licenses,  Spanish,  to  Chinese  in  P.  I., 
215,  217. 

Liefde,  Dutch  ship  in  Japan,  469  n,  472. 

Lima,  Peru,  312,  313,  314. 

Limahon,  sacked  Manila,  217. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  Pres.  U.  S.,  California 
vote  for,  364 ;  sent  Sumner  to  San 
Francisco,  366  ;  367  ;  368  ;  369. 

Lincoln,  Lowell,  Vice-President  Ameri¬ 
can  Asiatic  Association,  11. 

Linn,  Senator  Lewis  F.,  306. 

Linnaeus,  47,  68. 

Llama,  the,  281. 

Loarca,  Miguel,  161,  162,  163  n,  165  n, 
166  n,  167  n,  170,  174  n,  178  n,  179  n, 
180  n ;  quoted,  188  n,  189  n. 

Lobato,  Jos6  Maria,  336. 

Local  history  of  California,  80. 


Lock,  canal,  at  Seattle,  304. 

Longfellow,  H.  W.,  110,  111. 

Loomis,  Francis  B.,  140,  141,  145. 

Lopez,  Gregorio,  Relation  of  Events,  472  n. 
Lopez  de  la  Plata,  Jose  A.,  45,  66. 

L6pez  de  Velasco,  Juan,  Geografia  y  Des- 
cripcidn  de  las  Indias,  44,  65. 

L6pez  Medel,  T6mas,  47,  68. 

Los  Adaes,  399  n. 

Los  Angeles,  pueblo  founded  at,  95 ; 

overland  route  to,  318,  319  ;  330;  383. 
Los  Muertos,  Garc6s  at,  328. 

Los  Sarcos  (the  Arkansas  post),  397. 
Louis  XIV,  king  of  France,  28,  29. 
Louisiana,  317 ;  and  New  Mexico,  389, 
395,  396,  397,  398  n,  400,  409  ;  and 
Texas,  405—407. 

Louisiana  Purchase,  288. 

Lowell,  James  Russell,  111. 

Lowery,  Woodbury,  231  n. 

Lozano,  Pedro,  47,  68. 

Lubluban,  166. 

Lumber,  exported  by  H.  B.  C.,  285 ; 

exports  from  N.  W.,  301. 

Lummis,  Charles  F.,  quoted,  86. 

Luther,  Martin,  86. 

Luzon,  island  in  the  Philippines,  164 ; 
205  ;  Augustinians  in,  233  n  ;  467  ; 
472. 

Lyell,  Sir  Charles,  47,  48,  68. 

Mabini,  Apolinario,  253. 

Macao,  245;  trade  with  Japan,  476, 
477  ;  478,  478  n. 

McArthur,  Gen.  Arthur,  Gov.  P.  I.,  252. 
Macaulay,  Lord,  196. 

McConnell,  John  R.,  372. 

McCormick,  Frederick,  Secretary  of  the 
Asiatic  Institute,  5,  8,  11,  12,  17,  18. 
McDonald,  Archibald,  285. 

McGillivray,  John,  292. 

McGillivray,  William,  292. 

Mackenzie,  Alexander,  292 ;  quoted, 
293;  298. 

Mackie,  Patrick,  British  agent  in  Mexico, 
332. 

McKinley,  William,  Pres.  U.  S.,  ap¬ 
pointed  Canal  Commission,  135 ;  proc¬ 
lamation,  253. 

McKnight,  John,  434. 

McKnight,  Robert,  433,  434. 

McLean,  John,  quoted,  283. 

McLeod,  John,  282. 

McLoughlin,  Dr.  John,  283  ;  292  ;  298. 
McMillan,  James,  281. 

McRoberts,  Senator,  306. 

Macy,  Jesse,  quoted,  102. 


520 


INDEX 


Madison,  James,  President  U.  S.,  con¬ 
sulted  on  Mexico,  334. 

Madras,  expedition  against  Manila  or¬ 
ganized  at,  192 ;  investigation  of 
Drake  at,  211. 

Madrid,  Munoz  at,  475;  Japanese  em¬ 
bassy  at,  479. 

Magellan,  Ferdinand,  25,  26 ;  36 ;  42,  57, 
62,  63;  85-86,  91;  117-118. 

Magellan,  Straits  of,  26,  27 ;  Drake’s 
passage,  90;  114;  118;  119;  121; 
469  n. 

Mahaysina  Buddhism,  481,  482,  484, 
492,  494,  495,  496. 

Mail  service  of  H.  B.  C.,  286. 

Malacca,  25. 

Malaspina,  Alessandro,  47,  68. 

Malay  Peninsula,  31. 

Malayan  peoples  in  P.  I.,  162,  185  n, 
189  n ;  196. 

Malay  pirates,  242. 

Malays,  25  ;  tabu  among,  163  ;  slavery 
for  debt,  169. 

Maldonado,  Lorenzo  Ferrer,  85 ;  voyage 
of,  87  ;  121. 

Mallat  de  Bassilan,  Jean  Baptiste,  Les 
Philippines,  214  n,  218  n. 

Mallet  party  of  explorers,  390,  391,  391  n, 
394,  397,  399. 

Manaul,  bird  in  P.  I.,  188,  190. 

Mancini,  Jules,  Bolivar,  315  n. 

Mandans,  the,  289,  290. 

Mangians,  in  P.  I.,  161. 

“Manifest  destiny”  of  U.  S.  in  the  Pa¬ 
cific,  274,  275. 

Manila,  archbishops  of,  often  governors, 
241. 

Manila,  captured  by  Sir  William  Draper, 
1762,  30;  248;  abandoned,  30;  192; 
sources  for  history  of  capture,  193, 
194  ;  Drake  governor,  199  ;  evacua¬ 
tion  by  the  English,  204,  206,  210; 
opposition  to  Drake,  207  ;  the  Chinese 
in,  207,  208;  214-216;  insurrections 
of  Chinese,  217,  218;  Augustinians 
in,  233  n ;  242  ;  captured  by  Ameri¬ 
cans,  251 ;  and  Japan,  467,  468,  469, 
477,  480. 

“  Manila  Galleon,”  26,  29  ;  41,  62  ;  158  ; 
214;  218;  221,  222;  242;  247; 

duties  on,  reformed,  355 ;  373. 

“Manila  Records,”  193,  194. 

Manjarrfes,  Ram6n  de,  Proyectos  espa- 
Holes  de  canal  interocednico,  45  n ; 
66  n. 

Manning,  William  R.,  British  Influ¬ 
ence  in  Mexico,  1822-1826,  331-348; 


chairman  session  of  Historical  Con¬ 
gress,  14. 

Manrique,  Miguel,  to  explore  S.  F.  Bay, 
378,  379,  381. 

Manrique  de  Lara,  Sabiniano,  Gov.  P.  I., 
240,  246. 

Manso  Indians,  N.  M.,  441. 

Maoris,  24. 

Map  of  Japanese  coast,  Vizcaino’s,  lost, 
474. 

Maquata,  Lake,  327,  328. 

Maqueque,  Lake,  326 ;  see  Maquata. 

Marco,  Jose  E.,  160. 

Marco  Polo,  115. 

Margry,  Pierre,  D6couvertes,  cited,  391  n. 

Marianas  Islands,  245. 

Maritime  Canal  Company,  134,  135. 

Maroquin,  J.  M.,  President  of  Colombia, 
140-144. 

Marriage,  civil,  in  P.  I.,  251,  252. 

Marriage  customs  in  P.  I.,  170, 171, 189  n. 

Marshall,  James  W.,  discovered  gold  in 
California,  98. 

Marshall,  Thomas  Maitland,  St. 
Vrain’s  Expedition  to  the  Gila  in  1826, 
429-438;  15. 

Martinez  de  Ztoiga,  Joaquin,  226  n, 
231  n. 

Masamune  Date,  Daimyd  of  Oshh,  473  ; 
sent  ambassadors  to  Spain,  475;  his 
ship,  475  n,  479,  480;  his  embassy, 
478,  479  ;  in  Spain,  479  ;  in  Italy,  479, 
480 ;  return,  480. 

Mason,  James  M.,  of  Virginia,  105. 

Mason,  Colonel  Richard  B.,  military 
governor  of  California,  99,  101. 

Massachusetts,  111. 

Masulipatam,  India,  195. 

Matanchel,  Mexico,  preferred  to  San 
Bias,  384. 

Mather,  Stephen  T.,  5. 

Matriarchy,  in  Japan,  482. 

Maura,  Antonio,  decree,  251. 

Mayflower,  The,  90. 

Meares,  John,  277,  285. 

Medel ;  see  Lopez  Medel. 

Medina,  Pedro,  47,  68. 

Mediterranean  civilization,  498,  499. 

Melanesia,  24. 

Mendieta,  Geronimo  de,  Historia,  224  n. 

Mendocino,  Cape,  88,  91,  93 ;  373. 

Mendoza,  Antonio  de,  Viceroy  of  Mexico, 
89. 

Mendoza,  Diego  Hurtado  de,  85 ;  voy¬ 
age,  87. 

Mendoza,  Gaspar  Domingo  de,  Gov.  N. 
M.,  399. 


INDEX 


521 


Mendoza,  Juan  Dominguez  de,  445,  446, 
447,  448,  450. 

Mercado,  Diego  de,  his  canal  project, 
123. 

Merritt,  F.  Clifton,  13. 

Merritt,  Gen.  Wesley,  Gov.  P.  I.,  251, 
252. 

Mesopotamian  empires,  499. 

Mexicans  in  California,  willing  to  secede, 
365. 

Mexico,  not  represented  at  Historical 
Congress,  5. 

Mexico  (New  Spain),  37,  58;  87,  98; 

and  P.  I.,  158,  247 ;  214  ;  friar  prob¬ 
lem,  224  ;  friars  in,  229  n,  231 ;  north¬ 
ern,  317  ;  and  missionary  projects, 
321;  G&lvez’  reforms,  349-359;  and 
N.  M.,  408;  441,  449;  and  Japan, 

467—480 ;  arrival  of  Japanese  mer¬ 
chants,  472;  trade  with  Japan  opposed, 
477  ;  forbidden,  479  ;  see  Manila 
Galleon. 

Mexico  City,  G&lvez  at,  353,  355 ;  to¬ 
bacco  monopoly,  356 ;  Anza  at,  378, 
383,  385 ;  French  prisoners  at,  404  ; 
430  ;  439,  440,  441,  448  ;  475,  478,  480. 

Mexico,  Gulf  of,  37,  57 ;  124. 

Mexico,  Republic  of,  31,  32;  British  in¬ 
fluence  in,  1822-1826,  331-348;  war 
with  U.  S.,  408  ;  fur  trade  in,  430 ;  pro¬ 
test  against  trappers,  437,  438. 

Mexico,  U.  S.  war  with,  98,  99,  109  ;  408. 

Michaux,  Andr6,  291. 

Michelena,  Jos6  Mariano,  332  n ;  minis¬ 
ter  to  England,  336,  337,  338  n. 

Michillimackinac,  394,  401. 

Migoni,  Francisco  de  B.,  Mexican  agent 
in  England,  332,  334  n. 

Milbank  Sound,  282. 

Military  and  civil  officials  in  India, 
195. 

Mindanao,  island  in  P.  I.,  189  n,  190  n, 
233  n,  242,  245. 

Mindonoc,  Manila,  215. 

Mindoro,  P.  I.,  Mangians  of,  161. 

Mines  in  California,  98 ;  in  the  Pacific 
N.  W„  302;  in  N.  M.,  394;  of 
Coahuila,  405. 

Mines  in  New  Spain,  revenue  from,  351, 
356. 

Mining  laws  in  California,  99-105. 

Ministerio  de  Ultramar,  250. 

Minnesota,  State,  294,  295. 

Miraflores,  Peru,  311. 

Mirandaola,  Andrfes  de,  217  n ;  243. 

Mission  of  San  Diego,  California, 
founded,  94. 


Mission  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  San 
Francisco,  86 ;  foundation  of,  95 ; 
planned,  377,  378,  379  ;  381 ;  founded, 
384. 

Mission  San  Gabriel,  327,  329. 

Mission  San  Xavier  del  Bac,  318. 

Missionaries,  Spanish,  50,  71  ;  in  Cali¬ 
fornia,  96,  97  ;  in  P.  I.,  161  ;  at  Quer6- 
taro,  318;  Garces’  missionary  proj¬ 
ects,  321 ;  for  California,  379 ;  in 
Japan,  467,  468,  470,  472 ;  Jesuit,  in 
Japan,  opposed  Franciscans,  476 ; 
all  expelled  from  Japan,  479. 

Missions,  Franciscan,  in  California,  94- 
97 ;  on  route  to,  376;  at  S.  F.,  378, 
379 ;  in  California,  380 ;  chain  of, 
381. 

Mississippi  River,  French  exploration  of, 
28;  85;  94;  403. 

Mississippi  Valley,  307. 

Missouri  Intelligencer,  the,  429,  431. 

Missouri  River,  exploration  of,  288,  289, 
291;  318;  389,  390;  route  to  N.  M., 
400,  403. 

Missouri  River  Indians,  288,  390,  402. 

Mitre,  Bartolome,  315. 

Moacho  Indians,  398  n. 

Mobile,  396. 

Mocino,  Jos6  Mariano,  47,  68. 

Moffitt,  James  K.,  member  of  Committee 
of  the  Historical  Congress,  12. 

Moffitt,  Mrs.  James  K.,  member  of  the 
Reception  Committee,  12. 

Mojave  desert,  318. 

Moluccas,  the,  44,  65;  119;  158;  242; 
see  Spice  Islands. 

Monasticism  in  Buddhist  Japan,  492, 
493. 

Monkey,  white,  penalty  for  killing,  in 
P.  I.,  190. 

Monroe,  James,  President,  U.  S.,  334 ; 
his  message  to  Congress,  335. 

Monroe  Doctrine,  131 ;  331,  333  n,  334, 
335,  341  n. 

Montalon,  262. 

Montalvo,  Garci  Ordonez  de,  Deeds  of 
Esplandidn,  quoted,  84,  85. 

Montana  Territory,  295. 

Monterey,  Bay  of,  visited  and  named  by 
Vizcaino,  92,  93. 

Monterey,  California,  American  flag 
raised  at,  98,  111 ;  constitutional  con¬ 
vention  at,  1849,  107 ;  Portoli’s  trail 
to,  329;  G&lvez  and,  354;  and  S.  F., 
374 ;  375,  376 ;  presidio  of,  377,  378, 
381;  379,  380,  381;  fogs  at,  382; 

Anza  at,  383. 


522 


INDEX 


Monterey,  Gaspar  de  Zfiniga  y  Acevedo, 
conde  de,  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  91. 

Monterey,  Presidio,  founded,  95. 

Montero  y  Vidal,  Jos6,  Historia,  226  n, 
227  n,  230  n,  231  n,  232  n,  233  n. 

Montezuma,  87  ;  459,  460  n,  461,  463. 

Montezuma,  Isabel  Tolosa  Cort6s,  wife 
of  Juan  de  Onate,  454  n,  459,  463. 

Montezuma,  Leonor  de  Cortes,  459, 
460  n,  463. 

Montgomery  Confederacy,  364. 

Moore,  John  Bassett,  Digest,  cited,  333  n. 

Moqui  Indians,  398  n. 

Moraga,  Jose,  founded  presidio  of  S.  F., 
384. 

Morehead,  Senator  Charles  S.,  306. 

Moret,  Pablo,  251. 

Morga,  Antonio  de,  161,  163  n,  167,  170, 
171  n,  172  n,  173  n,  174,  178  n,  179  n, 
180  n  ;  expelled  Chinese  from  Manila, 
215,219;  216  n;  243;  245  n;  251; 
469. 

Morier,  James  Justinian,  commissioner 
to  Mexico,  336,  338,  339,  345,  346,  347. 

Moros,  in  P.  I.  codes  of  law,  160  ;  slaves, 
168;  178  n;  179;  180;  196;  245. 

Morris,  William  A.,  in  charge  of  meeting 
on  teaching  of  history,  9,  10;  18  n. 

Moses,  Bernard,  South  America,  quoted, 
224,  232  n ;  Philippine  Commission, 
255. 

Mota  Padilla,  Matias,  quoted,  458. 

Mountain  districts  of  N.  M.,  Spanish  in, 
411,  414. 

Municipal  government  in  P.  I.,  252. 

Munoz,  F.  Alonzo,  Japanese  envoy  to 
Spain,  472,  475 ;  at  Madrid,  475,  476  ; 
petition  against,  477  ;  given  letter  to 
Iyeyasu,  477,  478  ;  at  Madrid,  479. 

Murakami,  Naojiro,  Japan’s  Early 
Attempts  to  Establish  Commercial  Re¬ 
lations  with  Mexico,  467-480  ;  repre¬ 
sentative  of  Japan  at  Historical  Con¬ 
gress,  5;  16;  24;  81;  113. 

Murasky,  Frank  J.,  13. 

Murder,  penalties  for,  in  P.  I.,  180-182  ; 
186. 

Murillo  Velarde,  P.,  226  n. 

Murray,  Charles  Augustus,  Travels  in 
the  U.  S.,  429  n. 

Murviedro  y  Zamaneu,  Rafael,  182,  185. 

Mutis,  Jose  Celestino,  47,  68. 

Myres,  John  L.,  pamphlet  on  Historical 
Studies  at  Oxford  circulated,  20. 

Nagarjuna,  485. 

Nagasaki,  469,  474,  476 ;  open  port,  479. 


Naipi  River,  canal  route,  125. 

Naitane  Indians  ;  see  Laitdne. 

Nanaimo,  herring  fishery,  284  ;  saw  mills, 
285. 

Napcut,  320. 

Napestle  River,  394,  397,  398,  398  n,  399. 

Napoleon,  501. 

Napoleon  III,  Emperor  of  the  French, 
quoted  on  canal,  128,  129  ;  132. 

Napoleonic  wars,  31. 

Narbona,  Antonio,  Gov.  N.  M.,  gives 
passport  to  St.  Vrain,  431 ;  432 ; 

quoted  on  trappers,  436  ;  437. 

Narvdez,  Pdnfilo  de,  85. 

Nashville,  U.  S.  ship,  147,  148. 

Natagds,  Apache  Indians,  392  n,  398  n. 

Natchitoches  post,  396  n  ;  presidio,  405. 

Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West,  Order 
of,  7  ;  committee  appointed  by,  10 ; 
reception  given  by,  16 ;  services  to 
California  history,  76,  79-82;  112. 

Native  Sons  Hall,  S.  F.,  76. 

Native  Sons  Travelling  Fellowships  in 
Pacific  Coast  History,  79,  80. 

Naturalists,  expeditions  of  Spanish,  44, 
47;  65,68. 

Navajo  Indians,  398  n. 

Navarrete,  F.  Domingo  Ferndndez,  246. 

Navarrete,  Martin  Ferndndez  de,  cited, 
121,  123. 

Navidad,  Mexico,  89;  119. 

Nebraska,  State,  294,  295. 

Neches  River,  Texas,  406. 

Negros,  P.  I.,  legends  of,  160;  185  n; 
189  n. 

Nelson  River,  292. 

Neutrality  of  isthmian  canal,  127,  129, 
131,  134. 

Nevada,  state  of,  105 ;  ceded  by  Mexico, 
408. 

Neve,  Felipe,  Gov.  of  Alta  California, 
384,  385,  386. 

“New  Albion,”  name  given  to  Cali¬ 
fornia  by  Drake,  27,  90. 

New  Caledonia,  B.  C.,  283. 

New  England,  110,  111. 

New  Galicia,  456,  457. 

New  Granada,  Republic  of,  128 ;  U.  S. 
treaty  with,  1846,  129  ;  132  ;  143. 

New  Guinea,  32  ;  44,  65. 

New  Mexico,  317,  318,  357,  376,  378; 
French  intrusions,  389-407  ;  Spanish 
policy  in,  389  ;  French  bases  for  trade 
with,  390 ;  early  French  expeditions, 
390,  391  ;  Comanche  attacks  on,  392  ; 
mines,  394 ;  Frenchmen  reach,  393- 
396  ;  396-398  ;  geography,  398  n  ;  dan- 


INDEX 


523 


ger  from  French,  399 ;  communica¬ 
tions  with  Texas,  399  n ;  later  French 
intruders,  400-403  ;  French  frontier 
policy,  404,  405  ;  colonization  by  Spain, 
408  ;  occupied  by  U.  S.,  408  ;  annexed, 
409 ;  Spanish  and  English  languages 
in,  410;  Spanish  newspapers  in,  416, 
417  ;  fur  trade,  434,  435,  437  ;  settled 
by  Onate,  459 ;  Cristobal  de  Onate 
in,  460. 

New  Mexico  Historical  Society,  meeting 
of,  arranged,  10;  session,  15;  18. 

New  Mexico,  Otermin’s  attempt  to  re¬ 
conquer,  439—151  ;  orders  to  recon¬ 
quer,  440  ;  the  expedition,  443-446  ; 
retreat,  446,  447  ;  causes  of  failure, 
447—151. 

New  Mexico,  speech  mixture  in,  408- 
428  ;  proportion  of  Spanish  to  English 
speech,  410,  411;  effect  of  public 
schools,  411,  412;  introduction  of 
English  words,  413,  414;  English 
construction,  416-418;  terminology, 
418-421;  resume,  423;  vocabulary, 
424-428. 

New  Orleans  meeting  of  American  His¬ 
torical  Association,  1903,  Establish¬ 
ment  of  Pacific  Coast  Branch,  3. 

New  Orleans,  394,  396,  400. 

New  Panama  Canal  Company ;  see 
French  Interoceanic  Canal  Company. 

New  River  (Arroyo  San  Lino),  Garces 
at,  326. 

"New  Spain,”  Mexico,  87  ;  see  Mexico. 

New  Westminster,  B.  C.,  300,  304,  305. 

New  York  Herald,  146. 

New  York  World,  147. 

New  Zealand,  represented  by  paper  from 
Professor  Macmillan  Brown,  6. 

New  Zealand,  Cook’s  voyage  to,  31  ; 
English  occupation  of,  31,  32;  inter¬ 
course  with,  296. 

New  Zealand,  Dutch  discovery  of,  27. 

New  Zealand  and  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
497-501  ;  compared  with  Japan  and 
Britain,  499  ;  out  of  history,  499  ;  cli¬ 
mate,  500  ;  oceanic  situation,  500  ; 
scenery,  501  ;  future  of,  501. 

Nicaragua,  canal  project,  46,  66;  119; 
126;  of  NapoRon  III,  128;  130;  132; 
134;  136;  139. 

Nicaragua,  Isthmus  of,  overland  route, 
129. 

Nicaragua,  Lake,  118;  canal  route,  119, 
123,  125;  135. 

Nicaragua,  Republic  of,  128 ;  U.  S. 
treaty  with,  130;  134;  136. 


Nicuesa,  Diego  de,  117. 

Nino  de  Tabora,  Juan,  Gov.  P.  I.,  240, 
241. 

Nobility,  the,  in  Japan,  486 ;  of  Ky6to, 
487,  488;  religion  among,  488-491. 

Nodes,  Paymaster  John,  203. 

Nombre  de  Dios,  city,  119,  121. 

Nootka  Sound,  288,  291. 

Nootka  Sound  affair,  31  ;  277. 

Noragua  village,  322. 

Noriel,  Gen.,  263. 

Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  299. 

North  West  America,  the,  277. 

North  West  Company,  the,  278-281  ; 
united  with  LI.  B.  C.,  280 ;  Lewis  on, 
290  ;  its  policy,  292  ;  298. 

North  West  Passage,  122  ;  292. 

Norway,  500,  501. 

Norway  House,  281,  286. 

Novita,  115. 

Nuestra  Senora  de  Guadalupe  del  Paso, 
monastery,  439. 

Nueva  Vizcaya,  399,  441,  443. 

Nuevo  Leon,  405. 

Nuevo  Santander,  317. 

Numano,  M.,  Japanese  Consul-General 
at  S.  F„  5. 

Nuttall,  Mrs.  Zelia,  paper  read  on  The 
Northern  Limits  of  Drake's  Voyage, 
14,  18. 

Oakland,  California,  site  explored  by 
Anza,  383. 

Oaths,  judicial  in  P.  I.,  175. 

Obregdn,  Pablo,  Mexican  minister  to 
U.  S„  339  n. 

Oceania,  Spanish  in,  41,  42,  58,  63. 

Odaki,  Japan,  471. 

O’Donojti,  Juan,  315. 

Ogden,  Peter  Skene,  281,  282;  298. 

Ogden’s  Landing,  323. 

Ogiatogia,  321. 

O’Gorman,  Charles,  commissioner  to 
Mexico,  333,  336. 

Ohio,  State,  287,  294. 

Ojeda ;  see  Hojeda. 

Oklahoma  line,  389. 

Olafigans,  in  P.  I.,  190. 

Old  Northwest,  287,  294,  295. 

Old  Southwest,  287. 

Ollyquotquiebe,  Yuma  chief  ;  see  Palma, 
Salvador. 

Olympia,  Washington,  303,  304. 

Onate,  Alonso  de,  brother  of  Juan, 
461. 

Onate,  Cristdbal  de,  father  of  Juan,  452, 
454,  456-458,  463,  464. 


524 


INDEX 


Ofiate,  Cristobal  de,  brother  of  Juan, 
461,  462. 

Ofiate,  Cristobal  de,  son  of  Juan,  460, 
461. 

Ofiate,  Fernando  de,  brother  of  Juan, 
458,  461,  462. 

Ofiate,  Juan  de,  317,  408  ;  ancestry  and 
family,  452-464 ;  birth  and  youth, 
458,  459  ;  marriage,  459  ;  children, 
460,  461 ;  brothers,  461,  462  ;  at  Zaca¬ 
tecas  and  San  Luis  Potosi,  464. 

Ofiate,  Juan  de,  uncle  of  Juan  de  Ofiate, 
457. 

Ofiate,  Luys  Nfifiez  Perez,  brother  of 
Juan,  461. 

Ofiate,  Maria  de,  daughter  of  Juan,  460. 

Ordaz,  Diego  de,  462  n. 

Ordaz,  Maria  Galarza  de,  sister  of  Juan 
de  Ofiate,  462. 

Ordeal,  trial  by,  in  P.  I.,  176. 

Orddfiez  de  Montalvo,  Garci ;  see  Mont¬ 
alvo. 

Oregon,  American  settlement  of,  287 ; 
299. 

“Oregon  Bill,”  debate  on  the,  306. 

Oregon  Building,  Panama-Pacific  Ex¬ 
position,  Session  of  Historical  Con¬ 
gress,  14. 

Oregon  City,  302. 

Oregon,  coast  of,  reached  by  Cabrillo, 
89  ;  by  Drake,  90. 

Oregon  Shortline,  299. 

Oregon  State,  improvement  of  water¬ 
ways,  302,  303. 

Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company, 
301,  302. 

Oregon  Territory,  282 ;  its  settlement, 
294,  295,  299 ;  its  river  transporta¬ 
tion,  300-302  ;  Calhoun  on,  307. 

Oregon,  voyage  of  the,  1898,  135. 

Orendain,  Santiago,  at  Manila,  208  n. 

Orfila,  Marselino,  182,  186. 

O’Reilly,  Alejandro,  Count,  376,  377  n. 

Ortega,  Jose,  Hist,  del  Nayarit,  cited, 
322  n. 

Ortega ;  see  Gomez  Ortega. 

Ortiz,  Thomas,  403. 

Osage,  Fort,  430,  432. 

Osage  Indians,  402. 

Osaka,  Japan,  473,  479. 

Oshfl,  Japan,  473,  475,  480. 

Otermin,  Antonio  de,  Gov.  N.  M.,  439  ; 
ordered  to  reconquer,  440,  441  ;  442  ; 
preparations,  443  ;  march  into  N.  M., 
443-445  ;  took  Isleta,  445  ;  retreat, 
446,  447 ;  causes  of  failure,  447—451. 

Otis,  Gen.  Elwell  S.,  Gov.  P.  I.,  252,  253. 


Otis,  James,  of  S.  F.,  368,  369. 

Oto  Indians,  390. 

Otter,  the,  300. 

Ovalle,  Alfonso  de,  47,  68. 

Ovando,  Nicolds  de,  240. 

Oviedo,  Gonzalo  Fern&ndez  de,  47,  68. 

Pacific  Coast  Branch  of  American  His¬ 
torical  Association,  established,  1903, 
3. 

Pacific  Coast  trade,  controlled,  by  H.  B. 
C.,  281,  282. 

Pacific  Expedition  (of  Jimenez  de  la  Es- 
pada),  44,  65. 

Pacific  Northwest,  287  ;  settlement  of, 
294,  295 ;  hopes  of  pioneers,  296,  297. 

Pacific  Ocean,  epochs  in  its  history,  23  ; 
conflict  of  European  nations,  25-33  ; 
meaning,  35,  56  ;  Spain  and,  34-54, 
55-75 ;  influence  on  Oregon  settlement, 
287,  296,  297;  trade  of,  288,  306; 
Jefferson  and,  288,  291  ;  Spanish  ships 
and  Japan,  470,  471  ;  in  history,  499  ; 
its  future,  500. 

Pacific  Republic,  suggested,  365. 

Padoucah  Indians,  390  ;  Comanche,  391. 

Padron  de  Indias,  43,  64. 

Pages,  Le6n,  Histoire,  cited,  468  n. 

Palawan,  P.  I.,  161. 

Palma,  Salvador,  Yuma  chief,  323. 

Palomas,  Apache  Indians,  392  n,  398  n. 

Palou,  F.  Francisco,  329,  377 ;  Noticias 
cited,  381  n ;  at  S.  F.,  384. 

Pampango,  people  in  P.  I.,  164;  173; 

175;  178;  179;  181. 

Panama  Canal,  opening  of  the,  occasion 
of  the  Panama-Pacific  International 
Exposition  and  of  Panama-Pacific 
Historical  Congress,  6 ;  its  comple¬ 
tion  opens  a  new  chapter  in  history, 
23,  33  ;  Spanish  projects,  45,  46,  66, 
67;  112;  113;  119;  125;  French 
work  upon,  134,  135 ;  United  States 
resolves  upon,  135 ;  its  construction, 
136 ;  Theodore  Roosevelt,  address 
upon,  137-150 ;  and  North  Pacific 
trade,  305,  306 ;  compared  with  Suez 
Canal,  499. 

Panama  Canal  route,  125,  126,  130,  131  ; 
133,  134;  135;  139. 

Panama,  city,  117,  118,  119,  121,  127; 
bombarded,  148. 

Panama  Congress,  1826;  127,  338  n, 
342. 

Panama,  Isthmus  of,  117,  121,  126; 
overland  route,  129  ;  139 ;  143 ;  144. 

Panama  Railroad,  129,  130  ;  144  ;  299. 


INDEX 


525 


Panama,  Republic  of,  established,  136 ; 
145-148. 

Panama-Pacific  Historical  Congress  at 
San  Francisco,  idea  of  holding,  3 ; 
authorized  by  American  Historical 
Association,  4  ;  circular  convening, 
6-8 ;  outline  of  original  programme, 
8-10;  programme,  11-16;  23;  77. 

Panama-Pacific  International  Exposi¬ 
tion,  3,  4,  7;  112;  149,  150;  297. 

Pan-American  meeting  on  Isthmian  canal 
question,  128. 

Panana  Indians  ;  see  Pawnees. 

Panay,  island  in  P.  I.,  182,  185  n, 
190  n. 

Pangasinan,  people  in  P.  I.,  164,  180. 

Panin,  Nicholas,  Count,  270. 

Panipiquet,  Indian,  villages,  389,  394  n, 
398  n,  399  ;  see  Jumano. 

Pantheism  in  Buddhism,  484,  489. 

Papagayo,  Gulf  of,  123. 

P&pago  villages,  321  ;  Indians,  322. 

Papaguerfa,  the,  318,  320,  321. 

Pardo  controversy,  P.  I.,  237. 

Pardo  de  Tavera,  Dr.  T.  H.,  230  n. 

Pardon,  power  of,  in  P.  I.,  262,  263. 

Parfa,  gulf  of,  Venezuela,  116. 

Parian,  Chinese  quarter  of  Manila,  203, 
207;  214,  215,  216. 

Paris,  Treaty  of,  1763  ;  30,  206. 

Parker,  Luther,  186  n,  190  n. 

Paroissien,  Colonel,  314. 

Parral,  Mexico,  317 ;  441,  442,  450. 

Parsons,  Henry,  councillor  at  Manila, 
209. 

Partnership,  law  of,  in  P.  I.,  173. 

Pastels,  P.  Pablo,  233  n. 

Patagonia,  canal  project,  45,  66 ;  125. 

Paterson,  William,  quoted,  124. 

Pathfinders  from  Mexico  to  Alta  Cali¬ 
fornia,  330. 

Pattie,  James  O.,  Narrative,  429. 

Paul  III,  Pope,  224. 

Paul  V,  Pope,  received  Japanese  embassy, 
479. 

Paul,  tsar  of  Russia,  271. 

Pav6n,  F.  Jos6  Maria,  160;  his  manu¬ 
script,  160;  its  date,  161  ;  personality, 
161,  162;  old  Philippine  code,  in 
Spanish,  182-185;  in  English,  185- 
191;  163;  quoted,  176,  177;  182, 

185  n,  186  n,  187  n ;  quoted  on  birds 
and  documents,  188  n  ;  190  n  ;  191  n. 

Pavon,  Jose,  47,  68. 

Pawnee  Indians,  392,  397,  400,  402,  403, 
430. 

Pawnee  Rock,  432. 


Paxson,  Frederic  L.,  Independence  of 
South  American  Republics,  cited,  332  n, 
333  n,  334  n,  336  n,  337  n,  338  n,  340  n. 

Peace  River  and  Columbia  River,  canal 
route,  125. 

Peasantry  of  Japan  Zhodo  Buddhists, 
494. 

Pecos,  N.  M.,  Spanish  fort  at,  392  ; 
mission,  400;  401;  402  n;  403.^ 

Pedrarias  D&vila,  118;  240;  see  Avila, 
Pedro  Arias  de. 

Pelones,  Apache  Indians,  392  n. 

Pemmican,  279,  280. 

Penalosa,  Ronquillo  de ;  see  Ronquillo, 
Diego. 

Penalties  for  crimes,  in  P.  I.,  166,  175, 
178-182. 

Penn,  William,  110. 

P6rez  Dasmarifias,  Gomez,  Gov.  P.  I., 
murdered,  217,  218;  221  n. 

P6rez,  Juan,  voyage,  376,  380. 

Perez  y  Lopez,  Teatro,  quoted,  224. 

Perjury  in  P.  I.,  175. 

Persian  Gulf,  499. 

Peru,  37,  58  ;  87,98;  121;  friar  problem, 
224 ;  document  on  war  of  independ¬ 
ence  in,  311-316. 

Peru,  represented  by  paper  from  E. 
Larrabure  y  Unanue,  6  ;  311-316. 

Peru,  Republic  of,  31,  32. 

Peter  the  Great,  tzar  of  Russia,  30 ;  269. 

Peters,  Dewitt  C.,  Pioneer  Life,  cited, 
431. 

Pezuela,  Joaquin  de  la,  viceroy  of  Peru, 
311,  313. 

Phelan,  Senator  James  D.,  13. 

Philip  II,  king  of  Spain,  26,  43,  64  ;  story 
of,  121. 

Philip  III,  king  of  Spain,  28 ;  123 ; 

222  n ;  473  ;  received  Japanese  em¬ 

bassy,  479. 

Philip  IV,  king  of  Spain,  28  ;  224,  225. 

Philip  V,  king  of  Spain,  decree  of,  121. 

Philippine  Assembly,  260,  261. 

Philippine  Bill,  1902  ;  259. 

Philippine  Commission,  report,  1900; 
249  n;  254  ;  255-260. 

Philippine  Islands,  session  of  Historical 
Congress  dealing  with,  8,  13  ;  155-265. 

Philippine  Islands,  occupied  by  Spain, 
26 ;  ceded  to  the  U.  S.,  32 ;  Spain  in, 
41,44,65;  91;  158;  history  in,  156, 
158;  and  Alaska,  272;  trade  with 
North  Pacific,  306 ;  relations  with 
Japan,  467 ;  threatened  by  Japan, 
468 ;  trade  with  Japan,  471,  477,  477  n  ; 
known  as  Luzon,  472 ;  Japanese  en- 


526 


INDEX 


voys  in,  480 ;  see  Manila,  Manila  Gal¬ 
leon. 

Philippine  Islands,  Chinese  in,  214-222; 
number  of,  215;  government  of,  216, 
217  ;  taxes  on,  217  n;  Chinese  insur¬ 
rections,  217,  218;  expulsion,  218, 
219  ;  economic  importance,  220-222. 

Philippine  Islands,  early  culture  and 
systems  of  writing,  161,  162 ;  early 
law  and  procedure,  162  ;  peoples  of, 
164;  structure  of  society,  164,  165; 
religion,  165 ;  chiefs,  166-168  ;  slavery, 
168-170;  marriage  customs,  170,  171  ; 
divorce,  171 ;  laws  of  inheritance,  172, 
173 ;  law  of  partnership,  173,  174 ; 
judicial  procedure,  174-177 ;  crimes 
and  penalties,  177-182 ;  old  criminal 
code,  182-191. 

Philippine  Islands,  English  expedition, 
1762,  192 ;  sources  for  history,  193, 
194 ;  East  India  Company’s  intent, 
196  ;  Spanish  opposition  to  the  Eng¬ 
lish,  205-207 ;  evacuated  by  the 
English,  206,  210 ;  allusion,  221  n. 

Philippine  Islands,  friars  in,  224 ;  as 
parish  priests,  225 ;  resistance  to  visi¬ 
tation,  226-234;  recognized,  234- 
236. 

Philippine  Islands,  governor-generalship 
under  Spain,  238-251 ;  relations  with 
Mexico,  247  ;  reforms  in  government, 
248-251  ;  American  government,  251- 
265  ;  military  government,  252-255. 

Philippine  Library,  160,  161,  188  n,  189  n. 

Phillip,  Captain  John,  31. 

Phillips,  Wendell,  111,  112. 

Pi  y  Margall,  Ramon,  51,  72. 

Pichilingues,  Dutch  pirates  in  the  Pa¬ 
cific,  27. 

Pigot,  Lord,  196. 

Pigs,  sacrifice  of,  in  P.  I.,  190  n. 

Pilot  Knob,  Garces  at,  323,  325. 

Pima  Indians,  320,  321,  322. 

Pimeria  Alta,  Jesuits  expelled  from, 
318. 

Pineda,  Juan  de,  47,  68. 

Pinos,  Point,  named  by  Vizcaino,  92. 

Pioneers,  people  of  California,  112. 

Pipia,  Garces  at,  321. 

Pirates,  Malay,  in  P.  I.,  242,  250 ;  Jap¬ 
anese  in  P.  I.,  468,  469,  470;  see 
Pichilingues. 

Piro  Indians,  441  ;  447. 

Pitac  on  the  Gila,  320. 

Pitiaque,  Pima  village,  320. 

Pius  V,  Pope,  224,  229. 

Pizarro,  Francisco,  41,  62;  85,  87. 


Plasencia,  F.  Juan,  161,  162, 163  n,  167  n, 
171  n,  172,  173  n,  174  n,  175,  178  n, 
179  n,  181,  182  n. 

Plate  River  (Rio  de  la  Plata),  37,  58. 

Platte  River,  390  ;  Comanches  on,  391. 

Playing-cards,  tax  on,  in  New  Spain, 
351,  356. 

Plymouth  colony,  294. 

Poblete,  Miguel,  Abp.  of  Manila,  226, 
227. 

Poinsett,  Joel  Roberts,  U.  S.  minister  to 
Mexico,  331,  332,  340,  342  ;  quoted, 
343  ;  success,  344  ;  346,  347  ;  quoted, 
348  ;  on  American  trappers  in  Mexico, 
437,  438. 

Point  Reyes,  California,  86,  91 ;  named 
by  Vizcaino,  92  ;  93. 

Polignac,  Auguste  Jules  Armand  Marie, 
prince  de,  333. 

Polygamy  in  P.  I.,  170. 

Polynesia,  24,  31,  32;  296. 

Polynesians,  the,  499. 

Ponce  de  Leon,  Juan,  85. 

Population  in  California,  rapid  increase, 
99 ;  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  294, 
295,  299. 

Porter  y  Casanate,  Pedro,  123. 

Portland,  Oregon,  300,  301,  304. 

Portlock,  Nathaniel,  277. 

PortolA,  Gaspar  de,  30  ;  85 ;  expedition 
of,  94,  95;  110;  329;  374. 

Port  Townsend,  Washington,  304. 

Portugal  in  South  America,  37,  58 ;  ab¬ 
sorbed  by  Spain,  1580,  26 ;  bull  of 
demarcation,  90  ;  English  influence, 
344 ;  interests  subordinated  to  Spain, 
477. 

Portuguese  face  the  Pacific  Ocean,  25 ; 
exhaustion  of,  26  ;  41,  62  ;  early  trade 
with  Japan,  467,  476. 

Postal  service  of  H.  B.  C.,  286. 

Potter,  Lt.-Col.  Charles  L.,  302. 

Povedano,  Diego  Lope,  161,  189  n. 

Pozos  de  Santa  Rosa  de  las  Laxas, 
327. 

Pratt,  a  trapper,  432,  433. 

Presidencies,  in  India,  195. 

Presidios  in  California  established,  95, 
380;  on  route  to,  376. 

Priestley,  Herbert  Ingram,  The  Re¬ 
forms  of  Jos6  de  Gdlvez  in  New  Spain, 
349-359 ;  translator  of  Altamira’s 
address,  34  n ;  114  n. 

Priests,  secular,  in  P.  I.,  225,  228,  232, 
233,  234,  235  n,  236. 

Primero  de  Rivera,  Lt.-Gen.  Fernando, 
G.  G.,  P.  I.,  250. 


INDEX 


527 


Prince,  Bradford  L.,  New  Mexico  His¬ 
torical  Society,  10 ;  15. 

Principales  in  P.  I.,  166. 

Prinsep,  C.  C.,  Record  of  Services  of  Ma¬ 
dras  Civilians,  197,  199  n,  212. 

Property  rights,  in  P.  I.,  173. 

Provincias  Internas,  Mexico,  established 
by  G&lvez,  354,357  ;  California  in,  386. 

Puaray,  N.  M.,  445,  446,  448,  449. 

Public  Land  Commission,  report,  1880, 
quoted,  102-104. 

Puebla,  Mexico,  tobacco  monopoly,  356. 

Pueblo  country,  invaded  by  Otermin, 
444,  445. 

Pueblo  Indian  uprising  in  N.  M.,  1680, 
439,  449. 

Pueblo  Indians,  440. 

Pueblos,  founded  in  California,  95. 

Puget  Sound,  284 ;  coal  beds,  285,  301  ; 
saw-mills,  300 ;  lumber  exports,  301  ; 
harbor  improvements,  303 ;  cities, 
304  ;  and  Alaska,  306. 

Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Company,  284. 

Punehauca,  Peru,  conference  at,  314. 

Purchas,  Thomas,  Pilgrims,  cited,  120, 

122. 

Quaeckernaeck,  Capt.,  469  n. 

Queen  Anne’s  War,  110. 

Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  277. 

Queretaro,  College  of,  318. 

Quicksilver,  duties  on,  in  New  Spain, 
351,  355,  356. 

Quiquima  Indians,  324. 

Quivira,  mythical  kingdom,  88. 

Race  antagonism  in  N.  M.,  409. 

Rada,  F.,  161. 

Raffles,  Stamford,  31. 

Railroad,  Panama ;  see  Panama  Rail¬ 
road. 

Railroad,  transcontinental,  demanded, 
1850,  109  ;  suggested,  1845,  297. 

Railroads  to  the  Pacific  N.  W.,  299  ;  in 
Oregon,  302,  303,  306;  in  N.  M., 
effect  of,  409,  410;  on  New  Mexican 
Spanish,  413. 

Ramirez,  Alexandra,  432,  435 ;  quoted, 
435,  436. 

Ransom  of  Manila,  1762,  200,  207. 

Raon,  Jos6  de.  Gov.  P.  I.,  232. 

Raspadura  canal,  115,  125,  126. 

Real  de  San  Francisco,  435. 

Realejo,  Nicaragua,  128. 

Real  Hacienda,  public  finance,  in  New 
Spain,  349,  351,  352  ;  Gdlvez  reforms, 
354-356  ;  viceroy  and,  357. 


Reclus,  Elisee,  51,  72. 

Recollects,  friars  in  P.  I.,  227,  233  n. 

Recopilacidn ;  see  Laws  of  the  Indies, 
Spanish. 

Red  River,  the,  389 ;  Comanches  on, 
391  ;  boundary,  406. 

Reglamento  of  1778,  358. 

Relaciones  de  las  Indias,  43,  64. 

Religion,  early,  in  the  P.  I.,  165;  172; 
in  Japan,  483  ;  see  Buddhism. 

Religion,  Spanish  extension  of,  39,  60. 

Republican  party  in  California,  1859- 
1861,  363,  364,  367. 

Residencia,  inquisition  of  officials,  245- 
247  ;  of  Cruillas,  353. 

Retana,  Wenceslao  Emilio,  Weyler, 
250  n. 

Revenues,  public,  of  New  Spain,  350, 
351,  356,  358. 

Revere,  Paul,  ride,  110. 

Revillagigedo,  Juan  Francisco  de  Giiemes 
y  Horcasitas,  Count  of,  viceroy  of 
Mexico,  357. 

Revillagigedo,  Juan  Vicente  de  Giiemes 
Pacheco  y  Padilla,  Count  of,  viceroy 
of  Mexico,  357. 

Reyes,  Rafael,  President  of  Colombia, 
144. 

Rhode  Island,  110. 

Riballo,  Joseph  Miguel,  394,  395. 

Rice  culture  in  Japan,  482. 

Richbell,  Lieut.  William,  204. 

Richman,  Irving  B.,  320. 

Rico,  journalist,  314. 

Riley,  Bennet,  military  governor  of  Cali¬ 
fornia,  106 ;  proclamation,  107,  108. 

Rio  Case,  397. 

Rio  Grande  river,  canal  route,  124,  125 ; 
American  trappers  on,  436,  437. 

Rio  Grande,  Mexico,  317. 

Rio  Grande,  Panama,  118. 

Rios  Coronel,  Hernando  de,  219. 

Ritualism  in  Shingon  Buddhism,  489. 

Rivera  y  Moncada,  Fernando,  on  S.  F., 
374;  succeeded  Fages,  375;  instruc¬ 
tions  to,  377,  379  ;  at  S.  F.,  380 ;  or¬ 
ders  to,  381  ;  intentions,  382  ;  blamed 
by  Bucarely,  383 ;  sent  Moraga  to  S. 
F.,  384. 

Rives,  George  Lockhart,  U.  S.  and  Mex¬ 
ico,  cited,  331  n. 

Robertson,  James  A.,  A  Recently-dis¬ 
covered  Pre-Hispanic  Criminal  Code  of 
the  Philippine  Islands,  160-191;  13; 

Magellan's  Journey,  cited,  190  n;  see 
Blair  and  Robertson. 

Robideau,  Miguel,  432,  433. 


528 


INDEX 


Rocafuerte,  Vicente,  336,  338  n,  340  n, 
345. 

Roche,  Roland  M.,  10,  13,  76. 

Rojas  y  Onate,  Francisco,  visitador  of 
P.  I.,  247. 

Rojo  del  Rio  y  Vieyra,  Manuel  Antonio, 
Abp.  of  Manila,  199,  205. 

Roles,  John  ;  see  Rueland,  432,  433. 

Rom&n,  Juan  Bautista,  220  n. 

Rome,  Japanese  embassy  at,  479,  480. 

Romero,  Carlos  Antonio,  expected  as 
representative  from  Peru,  6,  14. 

Romero,  Pedro,  404. 

Ronquillo,  Gonzalo,  Gov.  P.  I.,  214, 
240. 

Ronquillo  de  Penalosa,  Diego,  Gov.  P.  I., 
226. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  address  The 
Panama  Canal,  137-150;  10,18;  135, 
136;  256. 

Rosa,  Jose  de  la,  245  n. 

Ross,  Alexander,  cited,  278. 

Roswell,  N.  M.,  410,  411,  412. 

Roy,  French  trader,  401. 

Royce,  Josiah,  History  of  California, 
quoted,  96. 

Rueland,  John,  432,  433. 

Ruiz,  Hipolito,  47,  68. 

Rupert’s  Land,  282. 

Rush,  Richard,  and  Canning,  333,  334, 
335. 

Russell,  Claud,  councilor  at  Manila, 
199,  209. 

Russia  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  30 ;  in 
Alaska,  269-273 ;  reasons  for  sale, 
273-275;  and  H.  B.  C.,  281,  282; 
293  ;  feared  by  Spain,  375,  376. 

Russian-American  Company,  272,  282, 
284. 

Russian  River,  California,  94. 

Russians  in  California,  86,  94. 

Ryswick,  Treaty  of,  1697,  28. 

Saavedra,  Diego  de,  47,  68. 

Sabin,  Edwin  L.,  Kit  Carson  Days,  431. 

Saboy,  320. 

Sacatdn,  320. 

Sacramento  river,  California,  318. 

Sahagdn,  Bernardino  de,  47,  68. 

St.  Augustine,  317. 

St.  Clair,  Benoit  de,  401,  404. 

St.  Denis,  Louis  de,  406. 

St.  George,  Fort ;  see  Madras. 

St.  George,  Gulf  of,  Patagonia,  canal 
route,  125. 

St.  Lawrence  River,  French  exploration, 
28. 


St.  Vrain,  Ceran,  expedition  to  the  Gila, 
429-438  ;  documents  on,  430 ;  pass¬ 
port  to,  431,  436;  numbers  and  per¬ 
sonnel,  432  ;  route,  432,  433  ;  438. 

St.  Vrain,  Julian,  432. 

Sakai,  Japan,  468,  469  n. 

Sakay,  262. 

Sal,  Hermenegildo,  385. 

Salagunting,  ceremony  in  P.  I.,  176,  177. 

Salazar,  Cathalina  de,  mother  of  Juan 
de  Onate,  453,  454. 

Salazar,  Count  del  Valle  de,  Spanish 
Consul  in  S.  F.,  5. 

Salazar,  Domingo  de,  Bp.  of  Manila, 
214  n,  216  n,  226. 

Salazar,  Gonzalo  de,  455. 

Salazar  y  Salcedo,  Hieronimo,  218  n. 

Salcedo,  Diego  de,  Gov.  P.  I.,  240,  246. 

Saleeby,  Najeeb  M.,  Moro  History  and 
Law,  160,  164. 

Salineta,  442. 

Salmon  fishery  in  B.  C.,  285. 

Salt,  tax  on,  in  New  Spain,  351 ;  re¬ 
duced,  356. 

Salt  river,  320,  321. 

Salvatierra,  Juan  Maria,  53,  74 ;  120. 

Samar,  P.  I.,  233  n. 

Sambal,  people  in  P.  I.,  164. 

Samoa,  32. 

Samurai  of  Japan,  religion  of,  492—494, 
495. 

San  Agustin,  Gaspar  de,  214  n. 

San  Antonio,  F.  Francisco  de,  163  n, 
171  n,  174  n,  175  n,  176,  177,  180  n, 
181  n. 

San  Antonio,  Texas,  318  ;  398  n. 

San  Antonio,  the,  94. 

San  Bias,  Mexico,  376,  378,  380,  381, 
382,  384,  385. 

Sanborn,  Mrs.  F.  G.,  member  of  the  Re¬ 
ception  Committee,  12. 

San  Buenaventura,  the,  472,  473  and  n. 

San  Carlos,  first  ship  in  San  Francisco 
Bay,  94,  95;  381;  385. 

Sanchez  Salvador,  Fernando,  407. 

San  Clemente,  island,  named  by  Viz¬ 
caino,  92. 

Sandalwood,  trade  in,  276. 

Sande,  Francisco  de.  Gov.  P.  I.,  240. 

Sandia,  N.  M„  445,  446,  449,  450. 

San  Diego,  86 ;  bay  discovered  by  Ca- 
brillo,  89,  119  ;  named  by  Vizcaino,  92  ; 
reached  by  Portola,  94  ;  heard  of  by 
Garces,  326,  329  ;  G&lvez  and,  354  ; 
compared  with  San  Francisco,  374 ; 
Spanish  settlers,  380 ;  Indian  out¬ 
break,  383 ;  385. 


INDEX 


529 


San  Diego,  mission  founded,  94. 

San  Diego,  presidio,  established,  95. 

Sandoval,  Felipe  de,  396  ;  his  journey  to 
N.  M.,  397,  398. 

Sandwich  Islands ;  see  Hawaii. 

San  Felipe,  N.  M.,  445,  447,  448,  450. 

San  Felipe  Pass,  seen  by  Garcfes,  327,  328. 

San  Felipe,  the,  confiscated  by  Japan, 
468. 

San  Fernando,  California,  gold  discov¬ 
ered  at,  98. 

San  Fernando,  College  of,  Mexico,  380. 

San  Francisco,  Bay  of,  long  undiscov¬ 
ered,  93,  373  ;  Indian  legend  of,  93, 
94  ;  discovered  and  named,  95 ;  or¬ 
ders  for  occupation  of,  374  ;  visited 
by  Fages,  375;  Bucarely  on,  377, 
378  ;  Galvez  on,  378  ;  orders  for  ex¬ 
ploration,  379  ;  explored  by  Ayala, 
381  ;  his  report  on,  382  ;  coast  of,  ex¬ 
plored  by  Anza,  383. 

San  Francisco,  City,  founding  of,  373- 
386  ;  Spanish  government  and,  373  ; 
Bucarely’s  plans  for,  378,  379  ;  Rivera 
at,  380 ;  orders  to  occupy,  381 ;  ex¬ 
cellence  of  site,  382  ;  first  settlers,  383  ; 
Anza  at,  383 ;  presidio  and  mission 
founded,  384  ;  supplies  sent  to,  385 ; 
owes  much  to  Bucarely,  386 ;  fur 
trade,  monopoly  of  H.  B.  C.,  281,  282  ; 
Wilkes’  prophecy,  296 ;  steamship 
lines,  300  ;  trade,  306. 

San  Francisco,  Home  Guard,  1861,  363- 
372 ;  municipal  government  loyal, 
365 ;  Unionist  meeting  at,  366  ;  mili¬ 
tary  situation,  367 ;  Home  Guard 
organized,  369. 

San  Francisco,  Legislative  Assembly, 
106. 

San  Francisco,  Mission  of  St.  Francis' of 
Assisi  at,  86  ;  founded,  95 ;  ordered, 
374,  377,  379  ;  planned,  382  ;  built, 
384. 

San  Francisco,  Panama-Pacific  Interna¬ 
tional  Exposition  at,  3  ;  see  Panama- 
Pacific  International  Exposition. 

San  Francisco,  Presidio,  founded,  95 ; 
ordered,  379,  380,  381  ;  planned,  382  ; 
garrison  for,  383  ;  built,  384. 

San  Francisco  river,  N.  M.,  St.  Vrain’s 
trappers  on,  433. 

San  Francisco,  the,  wrecked  in  Japan,  471, 

473. 

San  Francisco,  the,  Vizcaino’s  ship,  473, 

474,  473  n. 

San  Gabriel  Mission,  327,  329,  383. 

Sangleys  ;  216  n,  221 ;  see  Chinese. 


San  Ildefonso,  N.  M.,  448. 

San  Jacinto  Mountains,  318 ;  seen  by 
Garces,  327,  328 ;  trail  to,  329. 

San  Jacome,  Garcfes  at,  325,  326,  327. 

San  Joaquin,  California,  secessionists 
in,  365. 

San  Joaquin  river,  California,  318; 
reached  by  Anza,  383. 

San  Jos6,  pueblo  founded  at,  95 ;  meeting 
at,  1848,  106 ;  first  legislature  at,  107. 

San  Juan  River,  California,  94. 

San  Juan  River,  Colombia,  115;  118; 

canal  route,  126. 

San  Juan  River,  Nicaragua,  119;  canal 
route,  125;  of  Napoleon  III,  128; 
English  protectorate,  130. 

San  Juan  de  Sinaloa,  317. 

San  Lorenzo,  N.  M.,  440,  441,  446,  448. 

San  Lucar  de  Barrameda,  479. 

San  Lucas,  Cape,  92  ;  373. 

San  Luis  Potosi,  459,  464. 

San  Martin,  Jos6  de,  monarchical  plans, 
311-316;  letter  to  Pezuela,  311;  in¬ 
terview  with  Abreu,  313,  314;  pro¬ 
posals  at  Punchauca,  314  ;  monarchi¬ 
cal  ideas,  315. 

San  Miguel,  gulf  of,  canal  route,  120 ; 
131. 

San  Nicol&s,  island,  formerly  Juan  Rodri¬ 
guez,  89,  92. 

San  Pablo  (Pilot  Knob),  Garc6s  at,  323, 
328. 

San  Pedro,  California,  harbor  of,  named 
by  Vizcaino,  92. 

San  Pedro  river,  Texas,  406 ;  presidio 
proposed,  406. 

San  Pedro,  Rodriguez,  248  n,  249  n,  250  n. 

San  Sabll,  Texas,  318. 

San  Sim6n  y  Judas  de  Uparsoitac,  321. 

Santa  Ana,  N.  M.,  448. 

Santa  Barbara,  California,  Spanish  ele¬ 
ment  in,  415  n. 

Santa  Barbara  channel,  named  by  Viz¬ 
caino,  92. 

Santa  Barbara  island,  92. 

Santa  Barbara,  presidio,  established,  95. 

Santa  Bacas,  402. 

Santa  Catalina,  F.  Diego  de,  envoy  to 
Japan,  478  ;  detained  in  Mexico,  478  ; 
in  Japan,  479. 

Santa  Catalina  island,  named  by  Viz¬ 
caino,  92. 

Santa  Cruz,  bay  of,  Lower  California,  88. 

Santa  Cruz,  pueblo  (Branciforte),  Cali¬ 
fornia,  95. 

Santa  F6,  317,  318;  389,  390,  393,  394, 
395,  396,  399  n,  401,  407  ;  occupied 


530 


INDEX 


by  U.  S.,  408 ;  Spanish  element  in, 
410;  St.  Vrain  at,  431,  432,  433; 
Baird  at,  434  ;  licenses,  437  ;  448  ; 

449,  450. 

Santa  F6  de  Bogota,  treaty  of,  1846, 
129;  142. 

Santa  F6  trail,  408,  429  ;  Inman’s  book, 
430  ;  432  ;  438. 

Santa  Justa  y  Rufina,  Basilio,  Abp.  of 
Manila,  231-234. 

Santa  Maria,  Juan  de,  468  n. 

Santa  Maria,  city,  117. 

Santa  Olalla,  Garcfes  at,  325,  328. 

Santa  Rita  Copper  Mines,  433. 

Santa  Rosa,  P.  I.,  235. 

Santa  Rosa  de  las  Laxas,  Garcfes  at,  325. 
Santa  Rosa  village,  Garces  at,  323,  324, 

328. 

Santiago,  the,  sent  to  S.  F.,  385. 
Santibanez,  Bp.  Ignacio  de,  243,  244. 
Santo  Domingo,  N.  M.,  445,  447,  450. 
Santos  y  Rufina ;  see  Santa  Justa  y 
Rufina. 

Santo  Tom&s,  University,  P.  I.,  251. 

San  Xavier  del  Bac,  mission,  318,  321, 

329,  330. 

Sarracino,  Rafael,  quoted,  437. 
Saskatchewan,  the,  293. 

Satren,  Pedro,  394,  395,  396,  399 ;  see 
Latren. 

Sausalito,  95. 

Savana  River,  131. 

Saw-mills  on  Puget  Sound,  300. 

Scenery  of  New  Zealand,  501. 

Schafer,  Joseph,  The  Western  Ocean  as 
a  Determinant  in  Oregon  History,  287- 
297 ;  in  charge  of  a  session  of  the 
Historical  Congress,  5,  9 ;  member 
Programme  Committee,  12 ;  chair¬ 
man  session  of  Historical  Congress, 
14  ;  cited,  432  n. 

Schneider,  E.  S.,  190  to. 

School  system,  public,  in  N.  M.,  411,  412, 
417. 

Schurz,  William  Lytle,  The  Chinese. 

in  the  Philippines,  214-222;  13,41,  62. 
Scientific  expeditions,  Spanish,  in 
America,  43-48,  64-68. 

Scott,  Capt.  Robert  F.,  39,  53,  61,  74. 
Scottish  Darien  scheme,  123,  124. 

“Sea  Power,”  28. 

Seattle,  300  ;  harbor  improvements,  304, 
305. 

Secession  movement  in  California,  364, 
365,  367. 

Secularization  of  friar  parishes,  in  P.  I., 
233-235. 


Sedelmayr,  P.  Jacobo,  317,  318,  322  n. 

Sekigahara,  battle  of,  469,  469  to. 

Sena,  Tomds  de,  401. 

Senate,  U.  S.,  debate  on  admission  of 
California,  105,  106 ;  resolution  on 
isthmian  canal,  1835,  127,  128 ;  1866, 
132. 

Sendai,  Japan,  473,  475,  480. 

Serra,  F.  Junipero,  53,  74  ;  86;  founded 
mission  of  San  Diego,  94  ;  of  Dolores, 
95  ;  97  ;  110  ;  374  ;  377  ;  379,  380,  381. 

Serrano,  Diego  Calderon,  220  n. 

Serrano,  Miguel  Garcia,  Abp.  of  Manila, 
226. 

Sess6,  Martin,  47,  68. 

Seven  Years’  War,  349. 

Seville,  479  ;  see  Archivo  de  Indias. 

Seward,  W.  H.,  106,  112;  quoted,  132, 
133;  143. 

Shakespeare,  William,  86 ;  quoted,  497. 

Sharks,  respect  for,  in  P.  I.,  187,  187  n ; 
191. 

Sharon,  Frederick  W.,  member  of  com¬ 
mittee  of  the  Historical  Congress,  12  ; 
78,  79. 

Sharon,  Mrs.  Frederick  W.,  member  of 
Reception  Committee,  12. 

Sheep  raised  in  B.  C.,  283. 

Shepherd,  William  R.,  translator  of  Alta- 
mira’s  address,  34  n. 

Shields,  Gen.  James,  366. 

Shingon  Buddhism,  489. 

Shinto  institutions  in  Japan,  486. 

Shiogama,  Japan,  473. 

Shoguns,  in  Japan,  467. 

Show,  Arley  B.,  member  Programme 
Committee,  Historical  Congress,  12. 

Sia,  N.  M„  448. 

Siam,  24,  25;  241. 

Siberia,  30;  271,  272,  273;  306. 

Sierra  Madre,  California,  seen  by  Gar¬ 
ces,  327,  328,  329. 

Silva,  Juan  de,  Gov.  P.  I.,  240. 

Silver  City,  N.  M„  410. 

Simpson,  Sir  George,  personality,  280, 
281  ;  and  the  fur  trade,  281,  282,  292 ; 
horse  transport,  284  ;  and  fisheries, 
285. 

Sinaloa,  Mexico,  G&lvez’  plans  defeated, 
354  ;  intendants  in,  357. 

Singapore,  31. 

Singing  by  night,  penalty  for,  in  P.  I.J 
188. 

Sitka,  Alaska,  300. 

Skagit  River,  Washington,  303. 

Slack,  Mrs.  Charles  W.,  member  of  Re¬ 
ception  Committee,  12. 


INDEX 


531 


Slavery,  in  P.  I.,  168,  169,  170 ;  as  a 
penalty  for  crime,  178,  179  ;  188,  190  ; 
in  Sulu,  253. 

Slavery  question  in  U.  S.,  363  ;  in  Cali¬ 
fornia,  365,  367. 

Sloat,  Commodore  John  Drake,  98,  111. 

Sloss,  Mrs.  Max,  member  of  Reception 
Committee,  12. 

Smith,  Gen.  James  H.,  G.  G.,  P.  I., 
262. 

Smith,  John,  86. 

Smith,  John  Lewin,  councillor  at  Manila, 
199,  206,  208,  209. 

Smuggling  into  New  Spain,  measures 
against,  350,  353. 

Snake  River,  302. 

Snohomish,  Washington,  303. 

Snow  in  New  Zealand,  500. 

Sociology,  155. 

Socorro,  N.  M.,  410;  county,  411  n. 

Solis,  Juan  Diaz  de,  117. 

Solomon  Islands,  32  ;  44,  65. 

Sonneschmidt,  Friedrich  Traugott,  47, 

68. 

Sonoita,  mission,  321 ;  Garcfes  at,  322, 
328. 

Sonoma,  California,  secessionists  in,  365. 

Sonora,  Mexico,  95;  317,  318;  trail  to 
San  Gabriel,  329;  G&lvez  defeated, 
354 ;  intendants  in,  357 ;  Anza  and, 
375,  376;  route  from,  377,  378; 

French  sent  to,  399,  400 ;  407  ;  430  ; 
431;  432;  beaver  trapping  in,  434, 
435,  436,  437  ;  443. 

Sotelo,  F.  Louis,  missionary  in  Japan, 
472  ;  Japanese  envoy  to  Spain,  475, 
478,  479  ;  nominated  bishop,  480. 

Soto,  Hernando  de,  85. 

Southerners  in  California,  364,  365 ;  in 
San  Francisco,  367. 

Southern  Pacific  R.  R.,  299. 

South  Sea,  the,  292,  293;  389,  407; 
469  n. 

South  Sea  Company  of  London,  29 ; 
277. 

Soutter,  Pedro,  393. 

Spain,  represented  at  the  Panama- 
Pacific  Historical  Congress  by  Pro¬ 
fessor  Altamira,  5,  24;  113. 

Spain  and  Alaska,  272. 

Spain  and  independence  of  Mexico,  332, 
333,  337,  338,  339;  influenced  by 
France,  359  ;  policy  in  New  Mexico, 
389,405;  French  prisoners  sent  to, 
404,  406  ;  frontier  policy,  405—407  ; 
Japanese  embassy  to,  475,  476  ;  wel¬ 
comed,  479. 


Spain  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  24-31  ; 
34-54  ;  55-75;  85;  90;  route  across, 
41,  62,  90;  commerce  with  Japan, 
467  ;  see  Manila  Galleon. 

Spanish-American  people  not  ready  for 
republicanism,  316. 

Spanish-American  republics  and  the 
Canal,  127. 

Spanish-American  revolutionary  leaders, 
315. 

Spanish-American  war,  1898,  135. 

Spanish  chroniclers  of  the  Indies,  44, 
65. 

Spanish  colonial  movement,  38,  59 ; 
aims  of,  39,  59 ;  colonial  system,  49- 
52,  69-74  ;  in  P.  I.,  239  ;  governor  un¬ 
der,  242-244  ;  the  audiencia,  244,  245 ; 
attempt  to  reorganize,  248-250 ;  leg¬ 
islation,  250,  251  ;  influence  in  P.  I., 
253,  254. 

Spanish  colonization  of  California,  53, 
72  ;  of  N.  M„  408. 

Spanish  conquistadores,  25  ;  navigators, 
43,  45,  62,  64. 

Spanish  exploration,  39-43,  60-64 ;  in 
Northern  Mexico,  317  ;  in  the  eigh¬ 
teenth  century,  318. 

Spanish  government,  and  founding  of 
S.  F.,  373. 

Spanish  Hapsburg  power,  26,  28,  29 ; 
Spanish  Bourbons,  29. 

“Spanish  Lake,”  the  Pacific  Ocean  a, 
23,  27,  29. 

Spanish  missionaries,  50,  71  ;  in  Cali¬ 
fornia,  96,  97  ;  in  Japan,  467,  468, 
470 ;  see  Missions. 

Spanish  projects  for  an  interoceanic 
canal ;  see  Canal. 

Spanish  scientific  expeditions,  43—48, 
64-68. 

Spanish  speaking  colony,  N.  M.,  a,  408; 
at  American  conquest,  409 ;  propor¬ 
tion  of  Spanish  population,  410,  411  ; 
effect  of  public  schools  on,  411,  412; 
introduction  of  English  words,  413, 
414;  translations  of  English  terms  in 
N.  M.,  418-421 ;  resumfe,  423  ;  vocab¬ 
ulary,  424-428. 

Spanish  voyages  of  discovery,  39-43, 
60-64  ;  along  coast  of  California,  87- 
89,  91-95 ;  373,  376. 

Spanish  writers  on  P.  I.,  162,  163  n; 
names  for  P.  I.  chiefs,  166  ;  documents 
on  the  loss  of  Manila,  194  ;  and  Chinese 
in  P.  I.,  214,  government  of,  215-217  ; 
Chinese  risings,  217,  218;  expulsion 
of  Chinese,  218,  219,  221  ;  changes 


532 


INDEX 


of  policy,  220-222  ;  politics  and  P.  I., 
250. 

Speech  mixture,  English  and  Spanish, 
in  N.  M.,  408-428 ;  effect  of  public 
school  system,  411  ;  actual,  414—416; 
construction  of  sentences,  416—418; 
translations  of  English  terms,  418- 
421  ;  phonetic  changes,  421—423  ;  re¬ 
sume,  423  ;  vocabulary  of  New  Mexi¬ 
can  words,  424—428. 

Spice  Islands,  25,  28  ;  241 ;  see  Moluccas. 

Spokane,  300. 

Spooner  Bill,  135. 

Squillaci ;  see  Esquilache. 

Stanford,  Leland,  Gov.  of  California, 
369,  372. 

Stanford  University,  7 ;  session  of 
Historical  Congress  at,  10,  16. 

Steamship  communication  on  Pacific 
Coast,  300 ;  on  the  Columbia  River, 
301-303. 

Stephens,  H.  Morse,  address  Conflict 
of  European  Nations  in  the  Pacific , 
23-33  ;  President  of  American  His¬ 
torical  Association,  9,  11,  12,  14;  53, 
74  ;  speech  introducing  John  F.  Davis, 
76-82  ;  introducing  R.  J.  Taussig,  113  ; 
114  n;  introducing  Theodore  Roose¬ 
velt,  136. 

Stern,  Mrs.  Sigmund,  member  of  Recep¬ 
tion  Committee,  12. 

Stern,  Sigmund,  member  of  Committee 
of  Historical  Congress,  12. 

Stevenson,  Capt.  William,  councillor 
at  Manila,  208,  209. 

Stikine  River,  281,  282. 

Stoeckl,  Edward,  273,  274. 

Stone,  a  trapper,  432. 

Straight,  Mrs.  Willard,  member  of  Re¬ 
ception  Committee,  12. 

Straight,  Willard,  President  of  American 
Asiatic  Association,  5,  8,  11,  12,  13,  18. 

Strain,  Isaac  C.,  132. 

“Strait,  Secret  of  the,”  114,  118,  120-123. 

Stuart,  John,  298. 

Suez  Canal,  250  ;  499. 

Sulu  (Jolo),  196,  253. 

Sumas  Indians,  N.  M.,  441. 

Sumatra,  Fort  Marlborough,  195,  198. 

Sumner,  Charles,  111. 

Sumner,  Gen.  Edwin  V.,  366,  367,  369. 

Sumpu,  Japan,  472,  473. 

Suquash,  coal  discovered,  285. 

Survey  of  Japanese  coast,  made  by  Viz¬ 
caino,  473,  474. 

Survey  of  local  historical  material,  80, 
81. 


Suta  Queson,  321. 

Sutton,  John  R.,  paper  on  teaching 
history  in  schools  (printed  elsewhere), 
15. 

Swinomish,  Washington,  303. 

Switzerland,  500,  501. 

Tabora,  Juan  Nino  de,  Gov.  P.  I.,  240, 
241. 

Tabu  in  P.  I.,  163,  164,  165,  166. 

Tacoma,  Washington,  300,  303,  304. 

Taft,  William  Howard,  President  Asiatic 
Institute,  11;  Governor  P.  I.,  192, 
256  ;  Philippine  Commission,  255. 

Tagalog,  people  in  P.  I.,  164,  165,  166, 
173,  174,  178,  179,  180,  188  n,  189  n. 

Tagbanwas  in  P.  I.,  161. 

Tahiti,  32. 

Tamalpais,  Mount,  93. 

Tampico,  337. 

Taos,  New  Mexico,  390;  Comanche 
trading  mart,  392,  393,  395,  398 ;  re¬ 
volt  at,  409  ;  Spanish  element  in,  410, 
411  ;  St.  Vrain  at,  432,  433  ;  436. 

Tasman,  Abel,  27. 

Tasmania,  27. 

Taussig,  Rosa  G.,  member  of  Reception 
Committee,  12. 

Taussig,  Rudolph  J.,  address  The 
American  Inter-Oceanic  Canal,  114r- 
136 ;  chairman  of  local  committee  of 
the  Panama-Pacific  Historical  Con¬ 
gress,  4,  11  ;  his  address,  10,  16;  137 ; 
137,  138,  139 ;  president  of  Academy 
of  Pacific  Coast  History,  78. 

Tea  ceremony  in  Japan,  496. 

Teggart,  Frederick  J.,  in  charge  of  ses¬ 
sion  of  the  Historical  Congress,  5,  9 ; 
member  Programme  Committee,  12 ; 
1789  in  the  North  Pacific,  15;  79. 

Tehachapi,  California,  365. 

Tehuantepec,  Canal  project,  45,  46,  66  ; 
ships  built  at,  87  ;  119  ;  120,  125,  126  ; 
131  ;  isthmus  explored,  375,  376. 

Tehuantepec  Railroad,  133. 

Tej6n  Pass,  318. 

Tello  de  Guzmfin,  Francisco,  G.  G.,  P.  I., 
243,  244  ;  468  n,  469. 

Temperate  zone,  497. 

Temperley,  Harold  W.  V.,  Life  of  Carto¬ 
ning,  cited,  331  n,  337  n;  article  on 
Canning,  cited,  341  n,  342. 

Temples,  Buddhist,  in  Japan,  484,  485, 
486,  488,  489. 

Terrero,  Lt.-Gen.  Emilio,  G.  G.,  P.  I., 
250. 

“Terrestrial  Paradise,”  84. 


INDEX 


533 


Texas,  annexation  of,  108  ;  274  ;  explo¬ 
ration  of,  317,  318;  in  New  Spain, 
357 ;  communication  with  N.  M., 
399  n ;  French  intrusions  into,  405- 
407  ;  admission  to  U.  S.,  408 ;  English 
influence  on  Spanish  in,  415  n. 

Texel,  469  n. 

Theft,  penalties  for,  in  P.  I.,  179  ;  186. 

Thompson,  David,  298. 

Thompson,  Frederic  L.,  Chairman  Pro¬ 
gramme  Committee,  Historical  Con¬ 
gress,  12. 

Thwaites,  Reuben  Gold,  Early  Western 
Travels,  429  n. 

Tierra  Amarilla,  N.  M.,  411. 

Tigua  Indians,  441. 

Timagua,  in  P.  I.,  167,  168,  175,  178,  179, 
181. 

Tinajas  Altas,  322. 

Titles,  land,  in  California,  99,  100. 

Tlingits,  the,  272. 

Tobacco  monopoly  in  P.  I.,  248;  sug¬ 
gested  in  New  Spain,  352,  353  ;  car¬ 
ried  out  by  G&lvez,  356. 

Tokugawa  family,  in  Japan,  467. 

Toledo,  F.  Juan  Joseph,  400. 

Tom6,  N.  M.,  410. 

Tondo,  P.  I.,  Chinese  at,  215  n. 

Tonquin,  the,  278. 

Toombs,  Robert,  105,  106. 

Toreno,  Jose  Maria  de  Llano,  Count  of, 
315. 

Torre  Campo,  Marqu6s  de.  Gov.,  P.  I., 
240. 

Torrens,  Anastasio,  334,  335. 

Torres  Campos,  39,  53  ;  60,  74. 

Toscanelli,  Paolo,  84,  116. 

Touacara  Indians,  villages,  389,  390. 

Toyo  Kisen  Kwaisha,  steamer  line,  467. 

Trails  built  in  B.  C.,  284. 

Trans-Mississippi  States,  287,  294,  295. 

Transylvania,  State  of,  108. 

Trappers,  St.  Vrain's  party,  432  ;  on  the 
Gila,  433  ;  protest  against,  434,  435  ; 
436-A38. 

Treat,  Payson  J.,  in  charge  of  session  of 
the  Historical  Congress,  5,  10 ;  mem¬ 
ber  Programme  Committee,  12. 

Trees,  respect  for  sacred,  in  P.  I.,  187, 
187  n,  188  n. 

Trinidad,  384. 

Trinity  River,  Texas,  presidio  at,  407. 

Trudeau,  Lorenzo,  French  trader,  401, 
402. 

Trudeau,  Luis,  French  trader,  401. 

Trudeau,  Pedro,  402. 

Tsing  Tau,  32. 


Tsukinoura  (San  Felipe),  Japan,  475, 
475  n. 

Tubac,  383. 

Tucabi,  321. 

Tucson,  Arizona,  318,  330,  433,  435. 

Tulares,  the,  318. 

Tumwater  settlement,  300. 

Tupatu,  Luis,  Indian  chief,  N.  M.,  445. 

Turkestan,  Buddhism  in,  481. 

Turner,  Frederick  J.,  113. 

Tuscany,  Cosmo  II,  Grand  Duke  of  Tus¬ 
cany,  480. 

Twitched,  R.  E.,  Spanish  Archives  of 
N.  M.,  391  n,  393  n,  441  n,  442  n,  443  n. 

Ugarte,  P.  Juan,  53,  74. 

Ugarte,  Tom&s,  ship,  110. 

Ulloa,  Antonio  de,  expedition,  44,  65 ; 
47,  68. 

Ulloa,  Francisco  de,  voyage  of,  88. 

Unanue,  Dr.,  315. 

Union,  loyalty  to,  in  California,  364,  366, 
367,  368  ;  committee  of,  369,  370  ; 
soldiers  raised,  369. 

United  States  and  Mexico,  1822-1826, 
331-348 ;  the  Monroe  doctrine,  334- 
335 ;  quotation  from  Victoria,  346, 
347. 

United  States  of  America,  and  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  23,  31,  32  ;  in  P.  I.,  32  ; 
attitude  towards  California  before  its 
admission,  100-102 ;  admission  of 
California,  105,  106 ;  suggested  con¬ 
trol  of  canal  area,  126 ;  must  build 
canal,  126 ;  history  of  relations  with 
the  canal,  127-135 ;  treaty  with  New 
Granada,  129  ;  interest  in,  132,  133  ; 
Hay-Pauncefote  treaty,  135,  138 ; 

negotiations  with  Colombia,  139-143  ; 
rights  of,  in  the  canal,  149,  150 ;  in¬ 
terested  in  Alaska,  272  ;  sale  of  Alaska 
to,  273-275  ;  appropriations  for  Pacific 
N.  W.,  302-304 ;  annexations  after 
Mexican  war,  408  ;  on  American  trap¬ 
pers  in  Mexico,  438;  and  Japan,  480, 

University  of  California,  meeting  of 
teachers  of  history,  7,  15;  Summer 
session  of,  8 ;  session  of  Historical  Con¬ 
gress  at,  9,  15 ;  see  Bancroft  Library. 

Urab£,  Gulf  of  ;  see  Darien. 

Uraga,  Japan,  469  n,  471,  472,  473,  474, 
479  ;  open  port,  479. 

Urban  VIII,  Pope,  229. 

Urdaneta,  Andrfes  de,  120. 

Usuki,  Japan,  471. 

Utah  Basin,  318. 

Utah,  ceded  by  Mexico,  408. 


534 


INDEX 


Utrecht,  Treaties  of,  1713,  29. 

Uturituc,  320. 

Valverde  ;  see  Balverde  y  Cosio. 

Vancouver,  Capt.  George,  300. 

Vancouver,  B.  C.,  300,  304,  305. 

Vancouver  Island,  283  ;  coal  mines,  285, 
286. 

Vancouver ,  the,  281,  282,  300. 

Van  Nostrand,  J.  J.,  Secretary  to  the 
Panama-Pacific  Historical  Congress, 
5,  8,  12. 

Vargas,  Diego  de,  reconquered  N.  M., 
408. 

Vargas  Hurtado,  Juan  de,  Gov.  P.  I., 
220  n,  240,  246. 

Vasalanque,  F.,  Diego  de,  quoted,  458. 

Vatican  Archives,  53,  74. 

Vega,  de,  262,  263. 

Velarde  ;  see  Murillo  Velarde. 

Velasco  ;  see  Ferndndez  de  Velasco. 

Velasco ;  see  Lopez. 

V61ez  Cachupin,  Tom&s,  Gov.  N.  M., 
392,  393  ;  report  on  three  Frenchmen, 
395,  396  ;  report  on  French  intrusions, 
398,  399 ;  on  geography  of  N.  M., 
398  n;  arrested  French  traders,  403. 

Venezuela,  146  ;  247. 

Vera,  Santiago  de,  Gov.  P.  I.,  220  n, 
240,  244. 

Vera  Cruz,  Mexico,  87 ;  commerce  of, 
350  ;  Galvez  at,  353  ;  reform  of  cus¬ 
toms  collection,  354,  355. 

Vera  Cruz  River,  Mexico,  canal  route, 

120. 

Vergara,  Francisco  de,  123. 

Vermtidez,  DeSoto,  report  on  French 
trade,  405  n. 

Verona,  Congress  of,  1822,  331. 

Viceroy  in  New  Spain,  checks  on,  357. 

Victoria,  B.  C.,  sawmills,  285;  300,  304, 
305. 

Victoria,  Guadelupe,  Pres,  of  Mexico, 
332,  340,  343  ;  quoted,  346,  347. 

Vigilance  Committee  of  1856,  365. 

Villagr&,  Gaspar  de,  Cancidn  Pindarica , 
quoted,  461,  461  n,  462,  464  n. 

Villanueva,  Carlos  A.,  Ferdinand  VII , 
cited,  312  n,  315  n. 

Villazur,  Pedro,  317  ;  expedition,  390, 
392,  396  n. 

Virginia,  294. 

Visalia,  California,  secessionists  in, 
365. 

Visayan  Islands,  P.  I. ;  see  Bisayan. 

Visitation  of  P.  I.,  from  Mexico,  247 ; 
of  G&lvez  in  New  Spain,  349-359 ; 


his  powers,  352,  353 ;  his  work,  354- 
359. 

Visitation,  ecclesiastical,  in  P.  I.,  223- 
237  ;  its  purpose,  224  ;  ordered,  225  ; 
contest  over,  226-234 ;  abandoned, 
234-236. 

Vitoria,  Francisco  de,  50,  71. 

Vivero,  Rodrigo,  Gov.  P.  I.,  241 ;  wrecked 
in  Japan,  471  ;  accepted  Iyeyasu’s 
views,  472;  relation,  472  n;  476,477. 

Vizcaino,  Sebastian,  85 ;  his  voyage  to 
California,  91-93;  318;  373;  am¬ 

bassador  to  Japan,  473 ;  his  survey 
of  the  Japanese  coast,  473,  474 ;  diffi¬ 
cult  position,  474  ;  account  of  embassy, 
474  n;  return  to  Mexico,  475;  478. 

Vocabulary  of  New  Mexican-Spanish 
words  of  English  origin,  424-428. 

Voyages  of  discovery,  Spanish,  39—43, 
60-63. 

Voyageurs,  Canadian,  278,  279  ;  French, 
389. 

War  of  the  Austrian  Succession,  29. 

Ward,  Henry  George,  commissioner  to 
Mexico,  333,  336,  338,  339,  344,  345. 

Warren,  Joseph,  111. 

Washington  Monument,  109. 

Washington  Post,  the,  146. 

Washington’s  Birthday,  meeting  in  S.  F., 
366. 

Washington  State,  river  improvements, 
302,  303  ;  harbor  improvements,  303- 
305. 

Washington  Territory,  295 ;  settlement 
of,  299. 

Water  power  in  the  N.  W.,  299,  300,  305  ; 
in  New  Zealand,  501. 

Waterways  of  the  Pacific  N.  W.,  natural, 
300-303  ;  improved,  302-305. 

“Way,”  the,  in  Buddhism,  494,  495. 

Webster,  Daniel,  105,  111. 

Wellington,  Arthur  Wellesley,  duke  of, 
331. 

Wendels,  Anne,  390  n,  391  n. 

Wentzel,  George,  quoted,  280,  281. 

West  Indies,  317. 

West  Las  Vegas,  N.  M.,  410. 

Weyler,  Valeriano,  G.  G.,  P.  I.,  250. 

Weymouth,  George,  122. 

Whale  fishery,  276. 

Wheat  grown  in  B.  C.,  283 ;  trade  in 
N.  W.,  301. 

Wheeler,  Benjamin  Ide,  President  of  the 
University  of  California,  invitation  to 
Historical  Congress,  7 ;  member  of 
the  Committee,  12  ;  79. 


INDEX 


535 


Wheeler,  Mrs.  Benjamin  Ide,  member  of 
Reception  Committee,  12  ;  reception 
to  delegates  and  members  of  the  His¬ 
torical  Congress  given  by,  16,  19. 

Whitney,  Asa,  297. 

Whittier,  J.  G.,  111. 

Wilkes,  Charles,  quoted,  296. 

Willamette  Colony,  294. 

Willamette  River,  water  power,  299,  300  ; 
steamships  on,  300 ;  difficulties  of 
route,  301  ;  improvements,  302,  303. 

Willapa  Harbor,  Washington,  303. 

Willard,  James  F.,  member  Programme 
Committee  Historical  Congress,  12. 

Williams,  Major  Arthur,  302. 

Williams,  Frederick  W.,  Asiatic  Institute 
Conference,  12. 

Williams,  Mary  Floyd,  Secretary  of 
Reception  Committee,  12  ;  19. 

Williams,  S.  W.,  with  St.  Vrain,  431, 
432,  433,  436. 

Wills,  in  P.  I.,  172. 

Wilson,  Woodrow,  Pres.  U.  S.,  263.. 

Winnipeg,  Lake,  293. 

Wiuship,  George  Parker,  Early  Naviga¬ 
tors  of  the  North  Pacific  Ocean  and  the 
Map-makers,  15,  18. 

Wisconsin,  State  of,  interest  in  local  his¬ 
tory,  79  ;  admission  of,  105;  111. 

Witches,  belief  in,  in  P.  I.,  172 ;  181, 
182. 

Witnesses,  trial,  in  P.  I.,  175,  176. 

Woman  captains  and  viceroys,  43,  64. 

Woodbury,  Senator  Levi,  306. 

Worcester,  Dean  C.,  168  n ;  Philippine 
Commission,  255. 

Workman,  David,  431. 

Wright,  Luke  E.,  Philippine  Commission, 
255 ;  Vice-governor,  P.  I.,  257. 

Wright,  Silas,  143. 

Writers  in  the  East  India  Company’s 
service,  198. 

Writing,  systems  of,  in  P.  I.,  161. 

Wyeth,  Nathaniel,  J.,  298. 

Wyoming,  State  of,  105. 


Wyse,  Lucien  N.  B.,  Le  Canal  de  Panama, 
cited,  121 ;  134. 

Xavier,  Francisco,  444. 

Xenophon,  95. 

Xicarilla  River,  392,  393. 

Ximenez,  Francisco,  47,  68  ;  see  Jimenez. 

Yamhill  River,  Oregon,  303. 

Yedo,  Japan,  472,  473,  475,  479. 

Yguala,  Mexico,  plan  of,  434. 

Young,  Ewing,  432  n  ;  see  Joon,  Joaquin. 
Young,  Gen.  Samuel  B.  M.,  146. 

Yuba  Springs,  328  n. 

Yucatan,  247. 

Yuma,  318,  324. 

Yuma  desert,  318,  322  n ;  crossed  by  Gar- 
ces,  328,  329,  330. 

Yuma  Indians,  GarcSs  and  the,  322,  323, 
325,  328. 

Yuta  Indians,  398  n. 

Zacatecas,  Mexico,  458,  463,  464. 
Zacatula,  87. 

Zaitun,  port,  115. 

Zaldivar,  Vicente  de,  son-in-law  of  Juan 
de  Onate,  460. 

Zaldivar  family,  463. 

Zamacois,  Niceto  de,  Historia  de  MSjico, 
cited,  338  n,  340  n,  348  n. 

Zaragoza,  Justo,  43,  44  n,  63,  65  n. 
Zarca  Indians,  394. 

Zavala,  Lorenzo  de,  Ensayo  Histdrico, 
cited,  332  n,  337  n,  340  n,  348  n. 

Zea  Bermtidez,  Francisco  de,  338  n. 

Zen  Buddhism,  493-496. 

Zephyrin,  Father,  O.  F.  M.,  The  Fran¬ 
ciscans  in  California,  15;  see  Engel- 
hardt. 

Zhodo  Buddhism,  492-494  ;  496. 

Zonai,  Garc6s  at,  321. 

Zone,  Canal ;  see  Canal  Zone. 

Zufii  Indians,  398  n,  433. 

Ztiniga,  Joaquin  Martinez  de,  226  n, 
231  n. 


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